The Beach

#10 on "The List:" Go to the beach. 

I went to visit some friends who recently moved to VA beach and we went to the Neptune Festival. We went the weekend after the main event, but the sculptures were still there. That was the main attraction for us anyway. 

The sculptures were impressive! The sculptors came from all over the world. The sculptures were very cool to see!! I have pictures of a few of my favorites. 

Because who hasn't been sucked in by facebook?

This one was so cool, It had four sides to properly show the different soils that the seed fell
upon in the parable of  "The Sower."

In this one the mice carved a castle out of cheese. 

After we saw the sculptures we walked along the boardwalk and ate and played in the water and sand. It was great fun! It was supposed to be on the cold side, but ended up being a beautiful day. I even got a slight sunburn. :) While walking back to our vehicle, we saw two weddings. That was really fun. For both we got to watch the bridal procession come out of the hotel. 

It was a fun weekend, spent with good friends. Thanks, Will, Erica and family for hosting me and letting me ride along to the beach with your family!

August and September

I really should come up with better titles for these posts, huh? Month titles are soo interesting. 

Alright, I said I wouldn't post in August because it was very busy. That was true. In August, I moved moved to northern VA, started attending university, quit attending university and stayed in northern VA. 

Yea, that's right, I am not currently in school as I planned to be. Due to some advising errors, instead of spending money on useless classes, I decided to skip this semester. Right now, I plan to go back in January. The few days I did spend attending classes leads me to believe that I definitely will like the school!

So, what have I been doing the last month, since I haven't been in school? 

- Job searching. Basically I spend lots of time on my computer filling out job applications. -

- I've spent some time going back and forth between Mom's and Pete's. House sitting for either of them. -

- A fun little family reunion at Lake Gaston, in North Carolina. -

- More job searching. -

- Exploring D.C., a little, haven't done too much of that yet. -

- Holding Willow; snuggling my darling niece is definitely a perk of living with my brother and sister-in-law. -

Yea, that is about it. Pretty boring stuff. Alright, there is a quick update until I have something more interesting to say.

July and August: In List Form Because I'm Lazy.

• So, yea, I definitely didn't get two posts in this month. 

• My 30 Day Challenge for July was to sincerely compliment someone every day. That was a fun one, and sometimes [when my mood was bad] a tough one, but in the end really good for me! Looking for something to sincerely compliment on is a good exercise.

• I've been working evenings, washing dishes at a resort in WV; still being a T.A. at EWVCTC.

• August's 30 Day Challenge: To get through this month intact and get everything done that needs to before the big move! So, nothing specifically.

• Oh yea, in case you didn't know, I'm moving to Northern VA to attend university [George Mason]. 

• Moving day is 2 weeks and 1 day away, there is LOTS to be done by then.

• There will likely be no posts [for the two of you that read this] until September. Then again, I may surprise everyone and post something. ;)

• Pray for me if you don't mind, these next few weeks are chock full and there are big, exciting things happening. 

• And one picture so it's not all boring words. 

Half of our Maple tree fell down. It made a lovely picture. 

See you in September!

Run or Dye!

Alright, so #11 on my list of things to do this year is: Run a 5K. And.... it's done!

Finish line picture!

Technically, I didn't run the whole thing, ok, or even most of it. However, Taylor and I did our best, and it's officially marked off my bucket list :)

My good friend Taylor and I after the dye drill.

The race was called Run or Dye, held at Frostburg State University in Maryland. 

I'm still washing dye out of my hair 4 days later. :D

In conclusion, it was a fun day! And, I never thought I'd say this (I think I said the opposite during the actual 5K part), but I'd probably do it again. If you have a chance, sign up! It's worth it!

1/2 Way Mark

Halfway through my month of no sugar and this is what I have to say. Diet Cheerwine, it may have no sugar, but it tastes like death! Seriously, don't waste your money on it... Turns out, there is no substitute for real Cheerwine.

June Challenge

For June, I'm combining two challenges. (I'm starting today, I forgot to plan ahead, so I'm starting on June 3rd instead of 1st, no judgement.) Anyway, the two challenges are: no sugar and no fast food.

The no sugar is pretty general, no added sugar, I'll use artificial sweeteners if necessary. But, you know, that means no ice cream, or cookies, or Marshmallow Mateys cereal if I feel snackish. Or, realistically, I'm at home alone, and I don't want to cook, so CEREAL! So, that'll be somewhat miserable.

The second one, no fast food, is to teach myself to plan ahead more. I am often too lazy or just plain forget about packing a lunch, so then I usually just grab something from a fast food place, because "I'm starving, and I thought I could last til I get home, but I can't, so I'll just run to KFC/Taco Bell, and, obviously, if I"m going there I have to get a Baja Blast and Cinnabon Delights, because they are amazing..."  And there you have my chain of justification for purchasing the ridiculously unhealthy food I then stuff in my face... So, this challenge will be really good for me. I'll likely eat a lot healthier (obviously, no sugar..), and I know I'll save a lot of money. Also, I might start consistently packing a lunch. All good things, yea?

So, wish me luck. If you see me this month and I seem even grouchier than normal, assume it's because I'm in sugar withdrawal and I would basically do anything for some ice cream. ;)

Photo A Day: Lots of Photos

While I haven't been updating this, I have been taking the pictures. :) If you are observant you'll notice I missed a couple days, but whatever...

8: a smell you adore

I love the smell of water!

9: something you do everyday

Everyday I'm driving...

10: a favorite word

Snelfie: sneezing while taking a selfie. This word just cracks me up!

11: kitchen

Making pretzels in the kitchen

12: something that makes you happy

Doing pretty much anything with these people.

13: mum

Mom knitting, she calls it her stress reliever.

14: grass

Not just grass, but the grass in these woods is beautiful!

15: love

Dinner with my dear sisters and littlest nephew.

16: what you're reading

17: snack

Is there a better snack than Strite's donuts?

18: something you made

This is a throwback, the start of a comfort top.

19: a favourite place

Mt. Storm (and the drive to get there) is quickly becoming a favorite place. It is so gorgeous that there are no words to describe it's beauty.

20: something you can't live without

Words, I couldn't live without them, especially written words.

22: pink

There's pink in that sunset, right?

23: technology

25: unusual

While it has happened before, I don't usually have to duct tape my car ;)

27: something sweet

Lincoln, my nephew, who is a sweetie!

28: the weather today

The picture doesn't show it well, but the 28th was foggy, it didn't rain, but it was misty and just beautiful and perfect! I adore spring days like this. Look at how green everything is!

30: your personality

I guess my personality is random? Cause I have this picture... Does anyone else see the dragon? Cause I see it, and I thought it was pretty cool!!

31: something beautiful

My friends Amanda and Kyle got married on the 31st. It was a beautiful wedding, she was a beautiful bride, and is a beautiful person!