Weekend Six: Surprise Date

July 9, 10 and 11

We started Friday afternoon off with a dance lesson.  Claire is helping us with our first dance.  (Yes, we met two-stepping, but that doesn't always cut it for every song.  It was quite entertaining to practice in our living room.  (Pretty small for a dance floor!)

Claire is showing me my part.  I'm going to need a few more lessons.  :-)

After a Taco Salad dinner and watching Cats and Dogs 2, I could hardly keep my eyes open (not to mention that Dad and I had a late night the night before).  I have discovered that since turning 24, I can no longer stay up past 10:30 very well.  Does this mean I'm old??  I'd planned a surprise date for Adam on Saturday, and he got his first clue that night.  {I was going to print them out and make them cute, but my printer was out of ink.  Plan B.}

We made the trip down to Fair Park and discovered that parking alone costs $12.  No where on the museum's website did they mention ANYTHING about parking.  Lesson learned. 

We spent the afternoon there and saw learned about Chinasaurs,  DNA and Texas wildlife.  While we stopped to rest our legs, AMP got his second clue.  I'd gotten the idea for the Surprise date and Drive-In in Ennis from one of my favorite blogs, Today's Letters. 

The Drive-In movie didn't start until 8:30, but they said that spots fill up and such, so I wanted to make sure we made it.  Well, we did--7:00, and we were the third car in the lot for Cars 2 in 3-D.  Oh well.  This meant we didn't have to stand in line to wait for our food.  We loaded up on Reece's Pieces and popcorn later, too.

We brought our new fold-up outdoor chairs to sit in, and tuned in to the radio station to hear the movie.  Last month, Adam used part of his birthday gift card to Dick's Sporting Goods on a chair for each of us.  We realized this might be a good purchase when we went camping and ended up sitting on the picnic table bench while our friends lounged more comfortably in their chairs.  I felt like such an adult, (being prepared) unloading these from our car.  Ha.

The movie was really cute and very creative.  I (typcially) laugh very easily.  I knew it was a success when I heard AMP laughing next to me pretty often.  Victory. 

It was after 11 when we left to drive back, making it a late night for the fireman working the next morning.  I probably could've split these surprises up, but we have very few open weekends in the near future, so I just went for it.  Sometimes you just need to have a whole day of fun!

Sunday, Mom came over and we hung out.  She helped me hang up my clothes (thanks, Mom!) and we just enjoyed chatting it up.  No matter how old I get, Sunday afternoons always mean family time to me.  In college, I would typically hang out with a Waco family at their house.  This warded off homesickness most of the time.  :-)  Now, we're close again, and I love being able to hang with fam.  But I'm sure no one's surprised!

Graduation Lunch

Friday for lunch we celebrated a friend's High School graduation.  The "Birthday Group" is a bunch of my mom's friends that are all like second moms to me.  They celebrate anything and everything, and it's especially fun to be on the receiving end of the celebrating!  

We had a moms-and-daughters lunch at Rise, a souffle place in Inwood Village.  The desserts are absolutely delicious.  I came from work, and the girls said, "Shay you can sit with the moms or the kids--whichever you want."  I decided they'd appreciate it if I sat with the "kids."  :-)  {I'm the oldest of all the girls by about five years, but I've known them all forever.  They really don't feel young, even though I babysat almost all of them!}

The girls were about to start her senior year, a new high school graduate, and one who just finished her freshman year in college.   We talked about boys, bedding, summer plans and college.  If you'd been on our end, some of the conversation might have sounded like this...

• "Shay, are you SO ready to be married?"  When I answered, "Yes, only 106 days to go!" They said, "Oh my gosh, I love that you know the exact numbers!"  {Well of course I do...ha!} 
• In talking about dorm room bedding, I mentioned that it's a bit trickier when you have to pick bedding that a boy can live with.  They all started to giggle and then said, "Oh my gosh.  You're going to live with a boy! Giggle, giggle, giggle."  This probably cracked me up the most.
• And I think we were finishing up the bedding conversation and one of them said wistfully, "Oh, I just can't wait to be married!"   

It was so fun to sit and catch up with them and hear about life from their worlds.  Crazy to think that I was in their shoes not too long ago.  We had a great time, and I would highly recommend the bread pudding souffle!  

Rock Climbing: then & now

Yes, I said rock climbing.  If you know me at all, this probably surprises you.  I was, after all, the tennis manager in high school.  {That's how I got my P.E. credit, thankyouverymuch.}

Prior to beginning my Running Adventures with Adam, we went on a date rock climbing at a local place around here with a bunch of people from church.  It was quite fun, and I had a good time.  Last night was the first time we'd been back in quite a while, so I needed a little refresher with all the "On belay...Belay On...Climbing...Climb On" jargon.

It got me thinking about the first time we were there almost a year ago and how some things are the same and some things are a whole lot different.

Then {March 2010}

• I was in Memphis at a Lady Bears basketball game when I got the Facebook message from Adam asking me if I'd be interested in rock climbing.  (He didn't have my number yet.  Ha.)  After only a little encouragement from my college roomies, I said, "Sure!  No problem."  Naturally, my first question to the girls was about my outfit.  I dragged them to Target and we bought a cute shirt to wear with my workout capris and some little CZ diamond studs.  (Because those are essential when rock climbing...)
• We met up at the rock climbing place, and he rumbled into the parking lot in his sleek black GTO.  Even though we'd been writing messages back and forth for a little while, this was only the second time we'd hung out, so I was a bit nervous but a lot excited.   
• Adam patiently explained the whole how-to-belay process and trusted me enough to climb up walls using the rope that was in my hands (and thankfully some very strong caribiners).  We climbed for about an hour and a half, and I was blown away by his patience and his encouragement along the way.  
• We went to Pei Wei afterwards and sat and talked for another hour at least.  I remember laughing a lot, and he laughed at things I said.  I was thrilled that he thought I was funny!  He asked if he could call me sometime, and we made plans for lunch later that week before I left for Easter.
• My arms felt like they were about to fall off the next day.  I could barely type at work.  Seriously.  How embarrassing!  That was all about to change, though, because at our lunch later that week was when Adam told me he'd run with me.  And so it began...

Now {February 2011}

• Yesterday, I only stressed slightly about what to wear because it's gotten cold again.  And no, I did not put earrings in this time...but I did fix my hair.  What can I say?  Some things never change!
• We met up at the rock climbing place again.  This time, I wasn't nervous to see Adam, but it was nice to see him after a long day at work.  And last night, he rumbled in with his new truck.  (And yes, I think it's quite cool.)
• Again, Adam explained the climbing/belay process again, reminding me of what I'd forgotten.  (Which was pretty much everything.)  And still, he was patient and encouraging.  This time there was a whole lot more of us giving each other a hard time, but just as much laughter, and I even got hugs this time around.  ;-)
• We headed to Panera Bread afterwards, and instead of "getting to know you" conversations, there were still good chats, but with a lot more depth to them.  {No nerves.  It was wonderful.} 
• Thankfully, my arms don't feel like they're about to fall off today.  Amazing what running and working out will do!   

All roads lead to...

...Fall!  At least on the calendar.  Not exactly on the thermometer.  Here's a cornucopia of my thoughts for Fall...

Fall Recipes

I've been craving cornbread and chili, so I made that for dinner tonight.  It hit the spot.  

Today on the Pioneer Woman this new recipe for Pecan Pie Muffins was posted, so I grabbed the ingredients while I was at the store, and they were so good!  The recipe only have five ingredients, which is always a plus in my book. (Six if you add chocolate chips, like I did!)

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The recipe:

1 cup Packed Light Brown Sugar

½ cups All-purpose Flour
1 cup Chopped Pecans (I used 2/3 cup instead and added 1/2 cup of chocolate chips!)
⅔ cups Softened Butter
2 whole Eggs Beaten

Preheat oven 350 F.

Grease your muffin pan (whatever size) or use the silicone cups. I grease my silicone muffin cups with Crisco or lard.

In a medium bowl, stir together brown sugar, flour and pecans. In a separate bowl, beat the butter and eggs together until smooth. Stir into the dry ingredients just until combined. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Cups should be about 2/3 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool on wire racks when done.

Option: when you take them out of the oven, place a slice of butter on top and eat warm. You may also use walnuts instead of pecans.

Seasonal Music

I have a confession:  I've listened to "The Way You Look Tonight" ten times, according to iTunes...and I just downloaded it this weekend.  One of my all time favorite movies has always been "Father of the Bride,"  and I love the soundtrack.  This version is the one from the movie.  I used the Genius feature to create a playlist, and instead of similar songs, it pulled up Christmas music.  I just let it play.  'Tis the Season!  (Almost.  Maybe.  Ok, it's only September.  But a girl can dream.)

Fall Clothes

On another note, I got this Momism today in my email:

Wear your most comfortable shoes today.  It will make you feel good all over!

Ironically, these were the shoes I was already wearing.  I Don't suppose that falls into the category of "comfortable?"  While they're not recommended for the aforementioned grocery shopping, I was feeling quite chic.  Or something.  :-)

Here's to feeling Fallish!

Today's Letters

In the style of Today's Letters...

Dear Tahoe, yesterday you hit 100,000 miles.  Thanks for toting me back and forth from Waco to home so many times during college, and now from work to home for almost a year.  Someday if I get a dog, I think I'll name it Tahoe.  Because I like you that much.  Dear day-off from work, I thoroughly enjoyed you.  Please come again soon.  Dear Papa, I'm glad I caught you between all your many travels.  Lunch with you was sweet, funny and entertaining, as usual.  Dear College Football, I'm so glad you're back.  You provide such a great soundtrack for fall weather, afternoon naps, and lots of school spirit.  Dear New Running Kicks, I'm really grateful for you, because now my little toes don't hurt when I run.  Dear Roomdog, glad we got to catch up last night, slumber-party-style.  I've missed you.  Dear AMP, spending yesterday with you was a great way to enjoy beautiful weather and running in the park.  Loved every minute.  

Happy Weekend!

Crazy Nails and Other Random Things

I walked outside this morning for work and stopped dead in my tracks.  And shivered.  It was a cool 71 degrees when I got in my car this morning, and it was glorious.  I even rolled the windows down and turned on my heated seats.  (Seriously.)  The best part was that it was completely unexpected.  Just last week, I was wishing for Fall.

I haven't been running regularly since the two-mile relay a few weeks back because it has been SO unbearably hot.  (And I was still a little scared to run outside, since the last time I ran, Lyndsy scared me half to death.)  But I decided today that it would be a great day to lace up my running shoes, so that's exactly what I did.  Who knows how long this weather will last, but I'm grateful for it while it's here!

And I'm generally creeped out when people take pics of their feet, but I had to show you my blue toes. (And I figured people tend to read posts when they have photos in them.)  No, they are not blue from the cold.  Ha.  I actually chose that color from roomdog's ever expanding selection of nail polishes.  It's really loud for me, a typical pink/red girl, but she told me that color was "so in," and what's a girl to do but listen to her little fashionista roommate?!

{Blue toes and running shoes = first run of "Fall"}

And I was recently tagged in this strange/funny/fabulous picture on Facebook from Natalie's wedding last month.  

{There was A LOT of dancing that night.  And some crazy facial expressions, apparently.}

And in other news...Claire is back teaching at school, which means that we have a typical evening routine again.  I'm really enjoying it, because it means more chances at having dinner plans together in advance, and also I tend to go to bed earlier because she's already asleep, and it's not fun when you don't have someone to talk to!  

Her class this year seems to be much better than last, and I'm so glad for her.  It's amazing what having a year of teaching under your belt will do.  I am so impressed with how she has grown as an educator in just one year, just from things I've heard her say and different ways she's leading her class this year.  Way to go, Claire!  Those kids love you already, I'm certain.  (After all, who else rocks purple nail polish on the first day of school??)

Kind words

Kind words go a long way with me.  Seriously, I could live on a compliment for a good week and a half.  Write me a note, and I treasure it.

{Case in point: I've saved almost every note my mom put in my lunch box since I was in first grade.}

I was recently stalking my brother on Facebook, just for kicks, and I read this status update from the previous week:

Things I am thankful for: Wade Bogdon, Hershey park, my beautiful sister, Skippy, my 2002 Yukon.

It caught me off guard that I made Troy's list.  I think I'm still living off of it a few days after the fact.  :-) It was so sweet and unexpected that I teared up when I read it out loud to Claire.

Our family is big on personality tests, spiritual gifts analysis, the Five Love Languages, etc., so I've filled out several little tests in my short life.  Of the five love languages, {Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Receiving Gifts, Acts of Service & Physical Touch}, mine are definitely Words and Time, and Troy just made my week with a few words!

If you want, you can take the five question test here to find out what yours are.  I always think it's interesting to find out what others' Love Languages are, so let me know if you take the quiz!

Legends of the Fall

As the heat index stays somewhere around 110 degrees this August (as it does every August...I just block it out each year), I can't help but wonder if Fall is some elusive season.  Needless to say, I am ready for it.

To me, Fall means lots of things.  Namely, I get to wear tall boots again.  I am such my mother's daughter.  We love boots!  And I love finding them at Target.  I found some last weekend, and I just had to snatch them up before they ran out of my size.

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And Gap always screams "Fall" to me.  Now I'm not 100% about this outfit, but it sure looks cute on her!  It just seems like it would fit nicely on a crisp, Autumn day.  Anyone with me?

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Fall also means getting to nap on weekend afternoons while football games are on TV.  Oh, those are such good naps.

More importantly, Fall to me means friends, family and celebrations.  Like Birthday Cupcakes from Sprinkles!

And this just makes me want to go jump in a pile of leaves.  Aren't those colors stunning?

{This was two years ago in Boston when the Cousins went to visit Troy.  I loved all the leaves changing!}

While I don't mean to wish days away, I'm just ready for a bit of change.  Just sayin'.  :-)  Only a few more months and then we can welcome our two weeks of Fall around here!  Ha.

Happy Friday!  Let the weekend begin!

2005 Was the Start of Something Good

{New roommates at a party last Winter.  It was definitely cooler than 107 degrees like today!}

It seems that I've blogged about everyone else lately except Claire.  And I LIVE with her.  My apologies, Rooms!  We moved into our cute little a-p-t at the end of October.  It was quite an ordeal to sign our lease.  The apartment folks are not the easiest to work with.  But we made it, and it's been so.much.fun.

We've had a few parties, watched a lot of Gilmore Girls, laughed a TON, cried a little, and shared lots of meals and stories.  We are definitely not short on stories. 

Claire is the in-house fashionista, and there are probably three times a week (at least) that I ask for her opinion about an outfit (even this morning), choose an accessory from her jewelry drawer, or share a shoe.  (Unfortunately, we don't wear the same size.  But there are a few shoes that work.)

She is incredibly entetaining.  I mean, who else would put on their point shoes in the kitchen to show us what it's like?  (I think this was maybe the second or third time Adam had hung out with Claire.  It was really funny.)

{In a previous life, Claire was a prima ballerina.  It makes her very graceful!}

Claire and I met our freshman year at Baylor, but not until December, despite the fact that we lived across the hall from on another.  I had asked about 20 girls to go to Salado to look at Christmas lights and shop around this little town about 45 minutes south of Waco.  It's really magical at Christmas.  (I love Christmas, by the way...)

 {This was so 2005}

Not a single person could go.  Not one.  And I was bummed.  My roommate at the time, Julia, had introduced me to Claire just a few days earlier, and we were all standing around talking.  Julia suggested that Claire come to Salado.  So we planned to head out Friday afternoon.  She showed up at my door in J Crew jeans, a button down and a bright cable knit sweater.  I was wearing a similar outfit.  (That's when cable knit sweaters were all the rage.  I look back now and think OMG, that was bright.  But I had turquoise moccasins to match, and I was coordinated, don't you know...) 

We talked the whole way there, while we shopped, and while we ate some delicious Mexican food.  Then we went to a Christmas concert at a local church we just happened upon.  It was delightful. 

We bonded SO FAST in my little Volkswagen Passat because we'd both had our little 18-year-old hearts stepped on that first semester.  We've definitely improved in the guy department over the last five years!

That Christmas, I taught Claire to get on the Tollway.  We grew up two miles from each other, and she'd never driven on this glorious road (she used Preston all the time.  So many lights!)  We fixed that right away!  And now she zips on up to school using the Tollway every morning.  Look at that. 

We made many trips to Sonic after class, labored through Spanish class at Baylor (really way too difficult for non-Spanish majors), and I began borrowing her shirts and asking for fashion advice.  Some things never change.

If something really big, dramatic or exciting happens late at night while the other is already asleep, we have this unwritten rule that it's ok to run into the room and wake the other person up.  It's happened.  And it's usually really fun stuff.  And always worth getting woken up for. 

This is the first time I've ever lived with just one other person (unless you count the dorm, which I don't, because you have 600 of your closest friends right there), and it's been a blast.  Here's to lots more adventures!

{At the Rodeo this Summer}

Claire, I'm so grateful for our friendship and our fun little lives we get to live together right now.  You are a dear friend and a great roomie! I love to see how the Lord has orchestrated our friendship.  It's amazing to see how much we have grown as individuals these last five years, and I'm grateful that we got to share college together, witness the awkward I-don't-know-what-to-do-with-my-graduated-self moments, and now experience life in the working world.  Thanks for being such a fun, sweet addition to life!

Magical Memories

Last week, I was looking through a book my mom had put together about all my school days.  There were report cards, awards, projects and most importantly...birthday photos and invitations!

One of my favorite cakes ever was the one where the dress of a Barbie Doll was actually cake, very similar to this one:

When I think back to growing up, I have some really great memories.  We took some great beach trips and had lots of fun with my family.  But probably my sweetest memories are with this lady right here:

{My Great Aunt Jenny}

Aunt Jenny was Papa's older sister (they had six kids with about a 20 year age span!).  When my mom went back to work part-time after I was born, Jenny stayed with me during the week.  We took naps together, went to the park together, made pumpkin bread, and had sewing projects, just to name a few things.  

When Troy came along, I had to share her, but I didn't mind too much.  I do, however, remember my mom telling me about getting to go to preschool.  I immediately asked when I would see Jenny during the week.  (And I think a few tears were shed.)  But I still got to see her every week, and I'm certain it was a highlight.

Over the years, we became good friends, despite our 70 year age difference.  Together, we planned our very first "Camp Cousins" event.  (I think this was the beginning of my love for party-planning.)  We would go to her house in Fort Worth, have donuts, and spend the day playing games, making t-shirts with puff paint, eating pizza and washing her car.  (Something tells me it probably looked better before we washed it!)

We must've had Camp Cousins for at least five years.  Troy and I only have two cousins, Austin and Anna, and we are all so close in age that it feels like I have additional siblings sometimes.  For the most part, we've always gotten along great, but they will tell you that I was quite bossy.  And I probably was.  Sorry guys!

{Boston with the Cousins, Fall 2008}

Jenny encouraged us to all get along and have fun together, especially at Camp Cousins.  We danced along with to the music her player piano made and built forts out of umbrellas on her front porch.  My mom and my aunt are really close, so it made it easy for the four cousins to be good friends.  But I think these times we spent with Aunt Jenny made us even closer.

Troy's freshman year of college, the three Baylor Bears went up to visit him in Boston over our Fall Break.  We had a blast all together.  It was kind of like a grown-up version of Camp Cousins!

Jenny had a soft spot in her heart for her brother Travis' (Papa's) girls.  Mom and Laura have stories about Jenny from when they were growing up, too.  Before I left to study abroad in Europe in January 2009, Mom, Laura and I went up to visit Jenny in North Carolina.  (She moved there about eight years ago, and it was very far away!)

Aunt Laura and Aunt Jenny

Mom and Aunt Jenny

{Yes, I know that my mom and Laura look alike.  No, they are not twins!}

We were able to spend lots of time with Jenny, going through photos, laughing, talking and playing the piano.(That seems to be a theme.  We must really like music!)  Mom practically played through the entire Hymnal on the piano at the assisted living place while Laura and I sang.  It was definitely one of the neatest memories I have, because the people living there came into the big room to sing along, even making requests.  I definitely teared up a few times, especially as I sat there singing with Jenny squeezing my hand.  

We also watched the inauguration together, which was really cool to witness a historical event with three generations.  It felt very momentous.  

I got to enjoy 22 years with my Aunt Jenny.  At the age of 93, she was more than ready to get to Heaven.  In fact she told me about two separate occasions where she was at the pearly gates and they wouldn't let her in yet!  Amazing.  I know she's rejoicing now.  :-)

I thought I would be remiss not to include something about my Aunt Jenny on this blog, since it's all about the people and things that I love!  Thanks for humoring me and reading about the random thoughts in my head that included a birthday cake, Camp Cousins and my Aunt Jenny today.  :-)

I caved, y'all.

I bought an iPhone yesterday.  My contract was finally ready for an upgrade, and my Blackberry internet just wasn't cutting it anymore.  So I caved.  And I love it.  {This is when I wish the english language had more than one way to say "love."  Let's just say I really like it.}

I typically don't like to do what everyone else is doing.  {Hence why it took me so long to wear capris pants and buy a pair of TOMS shoes, just to name a few.  But all are things I wish I'd done sooner.  The iPhone is no different.} But anyways, I got one.  And it's super fun to play with.

{See?  I was having a little fun with the computer camera.  And trying to be artsy.  Whatever.}

This was last night at Petco--taken with my phone.  I'm not quite sure how we ended up there as part of our date after dinner at Lover's Pizza (so good), but we did.  (Life with Adam is always an adventure!)  He was just trying to scare the turtle.  I don't think it worked, but we won't tell him that...  Although he did manage to scare the fish--didn't know you could do that.

Turns out I learned that small rodents really gross me out--hamsters, Guinea Pigs, mice, etc.  kind of give me the heebies.  But it was entertaining, at least.

Well, I'm off to load up on carbs for dinner before I run my first 5k in the morning.  I'm pumped to finally be able to say that I've run one!  I'll keep you posted on that.  

Won't You Be...My Neighbor

The roomdog and I have a new neighbor!  We are so excited that Smoo moved just a mile from us.  It's not quite the same as living in the same apartment as her like I did in college, but it's still pretty great!  I'm just so glad she's here in the same city!

We have already shared many meals--Uncle Julio's, Best Thai, Uncle Julio's, and Uncle Julio's.  Maybe we should try eating at home, since we have two great kitchens to work from!  :-)  

Smoo, I'm glad you're here in your cute little home.  Maybe sometime soon I can RUN over and see you--literally!  I'm so proud of you!  Love, Shay Butter

July 4th Weekend

This weekend I headed to the lake with my family for a quick trip.  It was great to get away to relax and celebrate!  The weather was stormy when we got there, but it cleared up on the actual 4th to go out and ride jet skis.  

Adam came with me, and we had a lot of fun hanging out.  See?  We built a fort!  (And that's our friends' dog, Max.  He liked it a lot, too.)  We were going to watch Forrest Gump in our fort (can you believe I've never seen it?!  How un-American.), but the DVD player wasn't working in there and we had to relocate.   We found the Sombrero in a closet with all the blankets, and our family friends that came for the weekend brought the fireman helmet as a joke for when they met Adam.  Hence why we have hats on.  And it's just way more fun.

My family really was around (despite the lack of photos), and we even got to see Papa and Jonita for dinner before heading back to Dallas.  It was a fun time.

We made it back to Dallas last night in time to see several firework shows around White Rock Lake.  I really love the 4th of July.  My weekend was a long one, so I'm still not quite done celebrating.  I'm off to see more friends on my day off.  Love it!

It's the Fourth of July!

May your day be filled with lots of...

Laughter....

Beauty....

Friends....

And Fireworks!

Totally Loving...

There are a few things right now that I thought I'd share with you that I'm really loving.


First, I read in Real Simple Magazine (my fave, ever) about StereoMood.com, where you can choose from almost 80 different "moods" and have a play list.  I love music, but I hate making playlists.  Currently, I'm listening to the "It's Raining" playlist (because it really is).  But there are other ones like "Romance" and "Spring Cleaning".  Check it out.


On that same note (ha!), I really love the iTunes Genius feature, where you select a song from your iTunes library and click the "Genius Button," and it creates a playlist with similar sounding songs.


And then...

{Baby Mr. K}

{Sarah & Troy last Saturday at Ozona's Restaurant}

{Troy and Me last night at dinner before he left for Hershey, PA}

In case you haven't caught on, all these photos have been edited.  :-)  Some are better than others, but I'm learning.  I have Photoshop on my computer from a class I took in college, but it really intimidates me.  However, the Pioneer Woman's Photography Site has "PW Actions" that are FREE, and you can download them and use them yourself.  With the click of a button, you can have several different effects.  It's great, and really takes the guesswork out of editing for me at the moment.  Just go to her link above, and on the right sidebar, click "PW Actions" for step-by-step instructions on how to get them into Photoshop.  

And today on Fly Through Our Window, Darby did a little recap on her year-long study on Genesis.  I thought she did a great job in capturing what she learned throughout the year in her Community Bible Study group.  She listed one sentence for each week's lesson.  A great read, and I just love her blog anyways.  Take a look if you haven't already.

And who doesn't totally love the weekend?!  I'm so glad it's here.  Happy Friday!

To market, to market, to buy a...

The grocery store has the potential to be a very mundane experience. But, I've had the good fortune of visiting my neighborhood grocery store with friends on two separate occasions recently.  Let's just say  it was humorous.  Let me explain...

Shopping with a Girl
We get a basket with wheels, put our purses in, and then the Sonic drinks.  (Thank goodness for cup holders.)  We work from a list (I'm a list kinda girl), and we go around the store in an orderly fashion, getting enough food for the week.  When we get to the frozen food section, we are stopped by an associate who asks if we're having fun.  I think he was probably flirting with the only two young girls in the store.  Apparently most people don't smile when they grocery shop. We laugh, because it's funny, and continue on our way.  We stop at the make-up aisle, saunter down the shampoo section, and finally decide it's time to check out after we figure out what kind of dessert we're going to make next.  Then we proceed to have a conversation with the nice manager that knows us there.  I love neighborhoods.

Shopping with a Guy
He gets a basket to carry (which is great, because that means I don't have to do anything).  There is no list--after all, we're only going to get ingredients for the one meal we're about to make.  We sing along to the music playing in the store, and then he dances in the aisle simultaneously, which makes me laugh.  Then, we continue to laugh as the man from the bakery yells, "HOT bread!  HOT bread!"  I promise, it's hilarious to hear.  After a much shorter trip, we proceed to the checkout lane, and just happen to walk past all the hairspray, which reminds me that I'm about out.  I stop, saying that I need some.  Then, I realize that it might be rather difficult to justify to a guy with very short hair why I am purchasing a can of hairspray that costs $15.  I  quickly discover that they don't have the kind I want, which in turn classifies me as a "Hair Spray Diva".  I live in Texas--of course I am.  :-) And then we leave, just 15 minutes after we walked in the door.  But it was a very funny 15 minutes.

Needless to say, both experiences were quite entertaining.  I wouldn't recommend going to the grocery store alone--it's very boring .

Roller Derby...

Remember roller blading as a kid?  Well, I'm not athletic (at all), but I do balance pretty well, so skating and skiing are things I'm fairly good at, and I have good memories of doing these things growing up.  I'd been thinking of trying to roller blade recently, so while I was at Target yesterday, I ran across some Schwinn Roller Blades and bought them.  To my surprise, they ended up being $10.48!!  They were in a damaged box, but they work just fine, so it was a great deal.  

I went to my parents' neighborhood yesterday to try them out, and it was SO FUN!!  I may be thin, but I am not in shape, by any means.  Seriously, though, rollerblading is almost a full-body work out, because you have to balance and move your arms and legs.  It was absolutely gorgeous weather this weekend, so I really enjoyed being outside.  Claire went to Target today and got a pair and rollerbladed on Katy Trail in Dallas, so I think that's next on my list!  

I knew I needed to find something to do that I enjoyed in order to get excited about working out.  I think this may be it.  Ha!  Who would've thought.  I also have 10 weddings to go to this summer, so I thought it would be a good excuse to get fit!  :-)

I took our dog Skippy along for the first run, and he did pretty well.  But, we ran into these two little crazy dogs that were barking their heads off, and I was trying to get away from them, not watching where I was going, and the road was a little bumpy.  Well, I fell right on my butt...really hard.  It still hurts!  But I got right back up and kept going.  I did keep saying, "ow. ouch. ow." for a good minute after I fell down.  I promptly dropped Skippy off at the house and went around on my little route again.  

I got a few funny looks from some people out in their yards, but I've decided not to care...too much.  :-)  It really was just fun!  I'd been wanting to find some way to work out, but I knew running wasn't an option.  I don't really enjoy it, but my dad just ran a half marathon today (way to go, Dad!!), and he's just learned to love running, so I thought that might work.  It didn't.  Plus, I had physical therapy for whiplash that I got in a jet-ski accident two summers ago, and the doctor told me that was the worst thing I could do for my neck.  So...running was pretty much out.  Onto rolling!  

Did you see Whip It when it came out last summer?  I can't remember when I saw it, but I know I liked it.  It has Ellen Page in it (from Juno), and she learns to roller blade and compete in roller derbies.  I don't think I'll be entering any competitions, but it really was a fun time!

Hope you are able to enjoy this beautiful weather.  I'm off to hear my brother and his band play in a show tonight.  They're in town recording this week, and I'm so excited to see him!!  You can check out their music here:

http://www.myspace.com/troycartwrightmusic