Camping!

My camera was MIA for the bulk of the weekend, but I did get a few pics! This is one of the cabins we stayed in. It's called an A frame and is tiny but has everything you need!

This was our fire pit. The fire burned all weekend courtesy of the guys chopping wood and keeping it going. That tent in the back is where my friends Brad and Andrea stayed while they were there. It was the first time that tent had ever camped, so they decided to use it instead of a cabin.

This was the night we got there. Everything had been packed in the back of Tim's truck, so we unloaded it. We were supposed to be there when it was light but we stopped on the way to the campground to help a guy out of a ditch. Tim's 4WD was enough to pull that tiny little Celica out.

On Sunday afternoon, we loaded up the truck and headed back home. Overall it was a great weekend. No one got really injured, there were no fights and everyone seemed to have a good time! Hopefully if I ever go camping again I will have my camera the whole time and can take many more pictures!

Book Review #2: "Let Go" by Sheila Walsh

The second book I reviewed for Thomas Nelson publishers was "Let Go" by Sheila Walsh. Back when I was a kid she was a recording artist and on the 700 Club, so I knew some of her background but was interested in reading her book, especially since one of my good friends just saw her speak at the "Women of Faith" conference. I have to admit though, this was a very long, tedious, cumbersome read for me. I have several friends that I feel would probably enjoy it very much- one of whom I have passed it along to. I promise if she likes it, I will post her positive review. Walsh does a great job starting each chapter with a story from her life which were always entertaining- kind of making me hope she has a biography out there I can grab at some point.

The book is about looking forward in spite of your past. I feel like shelves in Christian bookstores are FULL of these books- Beth Moore, Liz Curtis Higgs... many authors have hit on this topic. Which means that people must need to read the content but having read so many others along the same thread it makes the chapters seem long and redundant. It's also a very emotional book, so sometimes the text felt more like ideas than actual practical content. Overall I feel like the book would have been great for another reader...just not me.

Last Night's Run

So after swinging by my mom's house last night to pick up a chair for my camping trip this weekend I decided I wanted to go for a run. And I really felt energetic so I decided to do the route from my house to the Sonic on Battlefield Blvd. It's about 4.5 miles round trip, so I usually walk the first .25 mile to warm up and last .25 mile to cool down.


The first 2.75 miles goes great. I get a good warm up and slowly run my way to Sonic. At Sonic I stretch, turn around and head back home, still feeling good. I make it about half a mile and the sky opens up. And I don't mean a little bit of rain, I mean RAIN. The kind you don't like driving in. The kind that soaks through all of your clothes so that when you run your shoes make squishy noises. And I still have 1.25 miles to go.

My first thought is "Save the Ipod!" so I take it off, wrap it tightly in my arm band and hold it as protected as I can in my hand. Water + IPOD= expensive disaster.

It took me about 15 minutes to get home with my squishy shoes, water running in my eyes and sticky clothes. When I walked in my living room, dripping on my concrete floor, Bella took one look at me and ran off. I guess I looked scary!

The Itsy Bitsy Spider

So last night I get home and find this on my front door! And not only is it on my front door, it's right by the door handle. So I very carefully opened the door, trying not to mess up his web and make him angry. And it stayed there all night but was gone this morning!

Oh Yes It's Ladies Night!

So Friday night was girls night at Laura and TJ's house (they were both out of town so we took over!) When I walked in Alicia was finishing her trifle. No, it was not the recipe from "Friends." It has strawberries and bananas in it and it was wonderful!



Heather had made seven layer dip and it looked so good I had to take a picture of it too!



Then I took a picture of it after we ate as much as we could! We kind of made a mess.




Alicia was impressed with it too!




Alicia and Heather get the drinks out of the fridge. Laura and TJ's dog, Bea, supervises to make sure they are doing everything properly!


While all of this was going on, Crystal was cooking enchiladas in the kitchen. They were taking forever!




But they were worth the wait. We ate all of them!



Then it was time to play Harry Potter clue. I was Luna Lovegood, which made me very happy!



While we played Hedwig watched over us to make sure we didn't cheat. She is such a good owl!

After dinner was over, we sat down and watched "Eureeka" which I had DVR'd while we were playing. I was happy I got to watch it!

Overall it was a great night. It's been a long time since just the girls hung out! Thanks Crystal for setting everything up and TJ and Laura for letting us hang out!

The Check Is In The Mail

I mailed it today... my last payment for graduate school. I am finally finished paying for school, though the work is not done yet. Altogether I managed to pay about $10,000 in cash over the last 2.5 years so my loan is not as bad as I thought it would be. Now I can just focus on the thesis and not have to worry about paying for next semester!

The Coming Weekend

I am so excited about this weekend I can barely stand it. Tonight a bunch of girlfriends and I are getting together for a game night. It feels like forever since I have had some of them without their husbands. There are plans for enchiladas, chips, salsa, 7 layer dip and a yummy desert!

Then tomorrow morning after my 8:00 prayer/accountability group phone call with my out of town girls I am heading up to Williamsburg with mom and Missy to do some outlet shopping. I am hoping to find some great stuff at great prices!

Saturday night Alicia, Crystal and I are heading to Town Point Park in Norfolk to attend a kind of show case for local community theater around the area. Each theater has 30 minutes to present. And since I am planning on auditioning for Oklahoma at the LTVB it will be a nice chance to see what they have in store.

Sunday afternoon the band at 757 is going to be trying out a bass player. I met him last Sunday at church and he seemed really nice. So we are looking forward to playing with him.

Overall, it is shaping up to be a really great weekend!