Thursday & Friday Recap

I had planned on posting last night but for some reason my internet was out, so it had to wait until today.  But yesterday morning before I went to work I stopped by Earth Fare to see Hannah and Eliza who were heading there for breakfast.  I got an Appalachian smoothie instead.  It had strawberries, blackberries, bananas and apple juice in it and was very tasty.  The only bad thing about it was all of the blackberry seeds that got stuck in my teeth.

Chacos under the table.

I wrote it on a napkin to remember what was in it.

Today I met Chelsea at Menchies because she was in town for a few hours and I finally had enough points saved up on my Smiles card that I could get this one for free!  I got cake batter and toffee frozen yogurt, and put Reese's Pieces, crushed Oreos and Butterfingers, granola, strawberries, cherries, and marshmallow cream on it.  It was delicious!

Before I went to Menchies though, I stopped by one of the Goodwills again to continue my search for something.  I didn't find what I needed but I did find this Lacoste belt for $1.35!  I love the rich, green color, and I think it will be the perfect pop of color against my denim pencil skirt that I'm in the middle of tweaking.

And after I left Menchies, I went to another Goodwill.  There was this shelf thing leaning against a wall that I picked up to get a better look at, and when I was done I leaned it back up and turned around to walk away.  Then I heard this loud crash, and then I said "Oww!"  I picked the shelf back and then glanced down at my heel and saw that it had gotten scratched.  A walked a little ways and then looked back down and saw that my heel was starting to bleed a bit.  Walked a few steps more, looked down, lots more blood!  Great, I thought, I don't have band-aids in my purse or even tissues.  But then I remembered I did have a napkin.  I always save my little plastic spoons from Menchies, so I took out the spoon which was wrapped in a napkin (thank goodness!) and kept dabbing at the blood which I could now feel dripping into my shoe.  I also realized a little chunk of skin was torn off and my shoe was rubbing right in that spot - quite painful.  So I turned around and sorta awkwardly walked out of the store.  Thankfully I have a well stocked First Aid kit in the car and cleaned that nastiness up.  It still stings a bit and if I'm being honest I'll probably use this as an excuse not to go run later, even though I really need to.

See that darker red spot?  Blood!...I know I'm being a bit dramatic, but it's my blog, I can be dramatic if I want to.

And so on that note...Happy Weekend!

Camera Cleanse

Time for another camera cleanse, where I post a bunch of random photos that have been hanging out on my memory card and taking up space.

This is my friend Madison at her going away party a few weeks ago.  She will be in Spain for the next 6 months doing campus ministry at a university there!

I spotted two Google Maps cars on my way to Lynchburg.  One on 1-26 before I'd even left Johnson City, and this one when I had almost made it to my parents' house.

Amanda and I stopped and got some Caribou Coffee before our day of shopping in NOVA.

When Mom was in town last week we stopped for lunch at this classic Pal's in downtown Kingsport.  If you aren't familiar with Pal's (which many of you won't be), it's a drive-thru restaurant chain in East Tennessee.  The buildings are a bright turquoise color with a giant hot dog, hamburger, fries, and drink on top.  They really are quite ridiculous looking, but the food is good, cheap, and fast.   I'd heard about this one, and was excited to finally go, it had been on my summer bucket-list.

Ok, after describing Pal's I just had to show you what they look like...

Summer Reading

I don't have time during the school year to do hardly any reading for fun, so I try to read a lot during the summer.  I've read 5 books so far, and only one of them is new; it takes me a while to get caught up.

Bloom, Kelle Hampton - I actually read this one right at the end of the school year.  It's s a memoir written by Kelle Hampton, about the birth and first year of her daughter, Nella.  Nella was born with Down syndrome, which was not something they were expecting at all.  I have been following Kelle's blog Enjoying The Small Things for over a year, where she writes about their day-to-day happenings.  She has a way of turning the most ordinary things into adventures for her girls, and she is also a photographer, so the pictures on the blog are incredible!

The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins - I had already seen the movie, but wanted to read the books too.  Since I already knew what was going to happen, I was never glued to the book or "unable to put it down," but I still enjoyed reading it.  I like really descriptive writing, which this is.  Yes, I did have the movie scenes in my mind as I read, but even if I hadn't seen the movies, I think I could have imagined things well on my own.

The Help, Kathryn Stockett - Again, I had already seen the movie, but still really enjoyed the book.  I think parts of the book seemed even funnier because I could picture the characters, mostly Minny, mouthing off about something.  I also really liked how the book was written by Skeeter, Aibeleen, and Minny; you get one story from three different points of view.

A Voice in The Wind, Francine Rivers - This one could be hard to sum up, because there are several different story lines in it.   But it takes place in Bible times, after Christ's crucifixion and is mostly about a young Christian girl named Hadassah who becomes a slave for a family in Rome.  It's about her relationships with the different family members, and her inner struggle to share the hope of Jesus with them.  Much of the book is also about a gladiator named Atretes.

An Echo in The Darkness, Francine Rivers - The second book in this series of three called The Mark of The Lion, is about Hadassah's new life (things changed drastically at the end of the first book), and how she is able to care for people and offer forgiveness.  Marcus, the son of the family who owned her, goes on a journey to find answers to his questions about God.  One of the main reasons I really enjoyed these books is because I'm really interested in Roman culture.  I took Latin for 5 years in middle and high school, and loved it.  So it was fun to be reading and recognize phrases and words, and just remember all the things I learned.

My goal before the end of the summer is to finish the last two books in the Hunger Games series - Catching Fire and Mockingjay, and the third one in the The Mark of The Lion series - As Sure as the Dawn, which returns to the story of Atretes.  So what's been on your summer reading list?

Director's Chair = Done

Thanks to my mom and her sewing machine, my director's chair is done,  and it looks 100% times better than the plain, stained fabric that was on it before!

Before...

...and after!

One more thing checked off!

 

Paint window in kitchen with crackle paint, and paint something on the glass.

Get something on the wall above the kitchen sink.

Paint little table next to wicker chest.

Paint coffee table white.

Varnish the end table.

Get something on bedroom walls.

Find something to replace vase and branches on dresser.

Put new fabric on director's chair.

Repaint red and green chest.

Paint earring holder white and then distress it.