Oh Me, Oh My

The past five days have flown by!!! I can hardly believe it is Tuesday already!! In exactly one week I will be back in South Carolina again - woo-hoo!!! Now I just need to get my rear end in gear and get some things done before I leave...

I completely forgot to post my review of our movie on Friday night! Fail. It seems that the three-day weekend caused me to lose my short-term memory. So, a little late, but here goes!!

This week's movie: Tangled

Overall impression: LOVED it!!!

Favorite Character: Maximus. Part horse, part bloodhound, completely awesome.

You would think that at the age of 22, I would have grown out of animated movies. However, I think the opposite has happened. I love them just as much now as I did when I was a kid - maybe even more!!! What I love about watching kids movies now is that I pick up on so much more of the humor!! I find myself wondering how kids enjoy the movies when they are missing so many subtleties! :)

Rapunzel was stolen from her parents, the King and Queen, and has spent all of her 18 years locked away in a tower with Mother Gothel. Right before her 18th birthday, she becomes desperate to get out and see, in person, the paper lanterns that are released every year on her birthday. Add a thief running from the law,  a horse in wild pursuit (haha), and a chameleon, and you have an adorable Disney princess movie!

The music is FANTASTIC!!! It was written by Alan Menken, so it's no surprise that it's so great. He's the same one that wrote the music for "Beauty and the Beast," "Aladdin," and "The Little Mermaid." One of my favorite tracks (in a sick kind of way) is "Mother Knows Best." The following lyrics made me think of the mindset of some homeschoolers... :)

"Take if from your mumsy

On your own, you won't survive,

Sloppy, underdressed

Immature, clumsy

Please, they'll eat you alive..."

And in closing, my favorite quote: "Frying pans...who knew???"

Our Memorial Day was pretty low-key. AnnaGrace had a 16-mile long run to complete. She has been dying to run on a trail, so I took my bike and pedaled along behind her. It went wonderfully until the last mile when she needed a story to pass the last couple minutes. Let's just say that it was a miserable failure...I'm going to have to work on my workout stories!!

Unfortunately, I was a lamesauce blogger and forgot my camera! However, AnnaGrace found some pictures of the trail online...so, while I didn't take them, here is where we were yesterday!! It was gorgeous.

After running/biking for 16 miles, we were ready for a soak in the pool!! We spent about 3 hours out there, and I got my first sunburn of the season. :( We also got to do some fun people watching...like the group of 8 20-something girls who were drinking their beers while sitting on a ledge in the fountain that's about 4 feet above the actual pool. Yeah, that's probably one of the more brilliant ideas I've seen in a while... ;)

We topped off the day by running errands, getting fro-yo, and plopping down on the couch to watch "Cake Boss" over dinner. (We may have also watched "The Bachelorette" while channel surfing...").

Nameless (Creative Juices = Non-existent)

My favorite by-the-pool drink (which is much easier to create in a Vitamix!!):

Favorite Frappuchino

12 coffee ice cubes
1/4 cup milk (add more as necessary)
1 Tbsp. peppermint syrup
1 Tbsp. sugar (more to taste)
Chocolate syrup, to taste

Combine all ingredients in blender. Enjoy!

I've started cold brewing coffee, not only to make iced coffee drinks, but also for my coffee ice cubes. I just recently purchased a french press, which has made it tons easier!! However, you can also use an old yogurt container. Just put 1/2 cup coffee grounds in the bottom, and fill the container with water. My coffee maker has a reusable filter, so I just pour the mixture through that into my cup.

Well, that's all for Thursday - besides laying out by the pool and going on a group run, I can't remember what we did! :(

On Friday, I went to Rockwall for the day because my aunt was having surgery. I hung out at the house with Ross, before heading to the hospital in the afternoon.

 
And now for the first edition of "Saturday Sweets"!!!! I decided to send AnnaGrace's "Birthday Week" out with a bang by making another cake. Plus, she was torn between red velvet and chocolate for her actual birthday, so I decided to give her the best of both worlds by making a red velvet cake!!! I've never made one from scratch, and it is delicious!!! The recipe is from The Tolerant Vegan. Hurray for cream cheese frosting without dairy!!! (And yes, it does still taste good!)

I learned a couple tips of cake baking along the way:

1. I didn't have a wire rack on which to cool the cake, so I just turned it out onto another baking sheet. However, I failed to grease the baking sheet. Hence, the ripped top. Thank goodness I was able to cover it up with the frosting!!

2. Read instructions more carefully. I accidentally got mixed up. I didn't realize I was supposed to keep the wet and dry ingredients separate. Thus, I didn't put the red food coloring in with only the wet ingredients. I think that's why it didn't turn out quite as red as I would have liked.

3. Cakes are hard to frost - especially when the frosting is drippy!! I need some more practice...

4. The frosting was unbelievably sweet!!! I modified it to the following:

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup Earth Balance (or butter), room temperature
1/2 tsp. Vanilla
3 cups confectioners' sugar - Next time I make this, I will cut it down to 2 cups, and then add more as necessary.

I also splashed a little soymilk in to thin the frosting. If I had added the additional cream cheese first, I probably would not have had to add the milk. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix for about a minute. Super easy and SOOO delicious!

And last, but certainly not least:

Sparkler candles are the bomb-diggity!!!!!!!!! :)

Surprise!

See??

Scones, Haircuts, and People-Watching

On Tuesday, we headed downtown to walk around and browse some of the shops that are always closed when we've gone before. We spent the majority of our time in an antique shop which had all kinds of interesting treasures, including these...

After our browsing, we had hair appointments, which were desperately needed!! We are both happy to report that we feel about 10 pounds lighter.

Hooray for new 'dos!

This week's "Tasty Tuesday" recipe is a new scone recipe. This dough is slightly sweeter than the scones I made over Spring Break. The sweetness of the dough, however, worked really nicely with the tartness of the blackberries. We changed the recipe slightly to make them dairy-free. Also, we didn't have brown sugar, so we used raw turbinado sugar instead.

Blackberry Honey-Wheat Cream Scones
Adapted from Savory Sweet Life

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 Tbsp. raw turbinado sugar (or brown sugar)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
4 Tbsp. Smart Balance spread
3/4 cup Silk creamer
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 Tbsp. honey
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups frozen blackberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a food processor (or a blender), add both flours, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Pulsate the dry ingredients for a couple of seconds to mix everything. Add the butter. Pulsate again until a coarse meal forms.

Transfer everything to a large mixing bowl. Add the creamer, egg, honey, and vanilla extract and knead the dough inside the bowl until it comes together. Add the frozen blackberries and work the dough with your hands and fast as you can into a large ball. -The less you handle the blackberries, the less purplish colored scones you’ll have. Frozen blackberries also help the berries keep their shape instead of getting smoothed into the dough.

On a floured surface, flatten the dough ball into a disk one inch thick. Cut the disk into eight equal pieces.
*We just plopped the dough onto the baking sheet, instead of cutting out "perfect" scones. The dough was a little runny and very sticky, so it was easier to do this.


Place the scones on a greased baking sheet. Bake the scones for 15-18 minutes or until the bottoms are golden brown.

Yesterday was deemed "People-Watching Wednesday." After spending several hours out by the pool, we headed to Wal-Mart to do some quality people-watching. Oh, the interesting types you find there!! :) Unfortunately, we couldn't get any photos without being too obvious!

While we were there, we hit up the hula hoops. While AnnaGrace was rockin' out, I floundered miserably...

Well, that's all for now. I need to get off the couch and start my pilates routine!!

Birthday Celebrations

Mimetic Monday turned into a celebration of AnnaGrace's birthday yesterday. Hey, birthday celebrations count as a reflection of childhood, right?? :) We started the morning off by sleeping, followed by our usual workout routines. Or rather, my revised workout routine (aka pilates), since I'm still easing myself into running.

After lunch, we headed to Goodwill, followed by the theatre for a showing of "Bridesmaids." Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph (both from SNL) are the stars, though Kristen Wiig steals the show - LOVE her!!! There were also several recognizable faces from "The Office" - Ellie Kemper (Erin) and Andy Buckley (David Wallace). The movie was hilarious!! Unfortunately it was also filled with raunchy conversations, scenes, and loads of language.

The movie centers around Lillian's (Maya Rudolph) bridesmaids, headed up by Annie (Kristen Wiig) as maid of honor. From dress shopping to bridal showers and bachelorette parties, the whole shebang gets turned into a competition between Annie and Helen (Rose Byrne), Lillian's "new best friend." (Sort of) Of course, as most competitions go, things get completely out of hand - and most everything backfires on Annie. Although the movie is about Annie and Lillian's friendship, it is also about how Annie deals with multiple setbacks in her own life - which I won't spoil for you. :) Overall, I loved the storyline - I just wished it had been tamed to a lower rating (which was totally do-able!).

After the movie, we headed to dinner at the Greenhouse. I was so ravenous, I failed to take a picture until after I had demolished my sandwich. The sweet potato fried were delicious!! (Though only lukewarm.)

For dessert, we combined three different cakes AnnaGrace saw online. Can we say indecisive?? :) First, came the peanut butter crust, consisting of peanut flour (made in the Vitamix), sugar, and water.

Next, came the Chickpea Chocolate Cake. Yep, you heard me right. Chickpeas.

Yummy, yummy!!

I wish my blog had a feature so that I could see your face right now. If your reaction is anything like AnnaGrace's family's was last night, it is quite humorous. :) I know it sounds gross, but I promise you can't tell (and yes, MaryLou, you should trust me on this - just like you came around to the spinach smoothies!!). ;) I have to admit that I was a little skeptical at first (I would have chosen the more decadent-looking cake), but it turned out quite well.

We topped the cake with a chocolate frosting made from yet another recipe. It was rich and super yummy!!

Three recipes later...the finished product!!

Unfortunately, the candles started melting into the cake, so AnnaGrace didn't actually get to blow them out. :(

And now, I'm off for Day #2 of the festivities - a trip downtown and haircuts!!!

Thirsty Thursday/Friday Flicks

After AnnaGrace got off work Thursday night, we headed to Rockwall to keep Ross for Joy and Joel since they had a wedding to attend. The little booger is getting more difficult - he cried for 3 hours last night (from midnight until 3am) before we finally just gave in and put him in the bed with us. At that point, we valued sleep more than principles...we'll let his parents fight this one out. :) He just went down for his nap, and we're at 35 minutes and counting...

Being in Rockwall means that I haven't had a chance to sit down and blog. I apologize for the length of this post, but I'm going to try and get caught up. :)

On Thursday, AnnaGrace and I biked to a nearby park for a picnic lunch. The weather was great, though the wind was quite strong since thunderstorms were blowing in. The wind also made it a little chilly - after downing our lemonade slushies, we were actually quite cold! Who knew that was possible in Texas during the summer??

AnnaGrace and her cayenne pepper...

Thirsty Thursday

Every Thursday, the plan is to post a new smoothie recipe - hence the name "Thirsty Thursday." This week we made slushies - they were delicious!! We usually just throw stuff into the blender and taste as we go, so the measurements are approximate.

Watermelon Lemonade Slushies

Servings: 2

6 cups ice

1 lemon, peeled

2 packets Raspberry Lemonade mix

1/2 cup watermelon cubes

Water, to thin out

Put all ingredients in the blender and blend away. Add additionally ice, water, etc. as needed.

Enjoy!

Yesterday we took Ross out for a little shopping trip to get out of the house...he really enjoyed the shoe store. :)

Although the hats were a close second. :)

Friday Flicks

This week, I have two movie reviews for you. We technically kicked off "Friday Flicks" last week, but I never got around to posting the review.

Movie Review #1 - "Mega-Mind"

I had not seen the trailer for this movie, so I wasn't sure what to expect. All I knew was that it was an animated movie. :) However, this movie was adorable!!!

The main character, Mega-Mind, is a blue-headed villain who has spent his whole life competing against "Metro Man." However, when Mega-Mind finally conquers Metro Man, he finds that his life becomes quite dull - not to mention that everyone hates him. He then proceeds to try and create a villian, in hopes of making life a little more interesting, and finally proving that he's not all bad.

Overall, I give this movie a 4.5 out of 5. There were quite a few quotable lines, and the storyline was very original. I highly recommend it, even for us "grown-up" kids. ;)

Movie Review #2 - "Dinner for Schmucks"

This movie was alright. Starring Steve Carrell, it definitely had its funny moments, though it also had its share of crude jokes/conversations.

Paul Rudd plays Tim, an man who has his eyes on a promotion at work, in hopes that the promotion will cause his girlfriend to say "yes" when he asks her to marry him (despite already asking twice). Unfortunately, in order to get the promotion, he needs to find an "idiot," to take to a monthly dinner hosted by his boss. Tim's girlfriend is appalled, and he questions the morality of going to the dinner. However, he also meets the perfect candidate - Barry (played by Steve Carrell), a man who works for the IRS and spends his spare time as a taxidermist creating people out of dead mice.

As soon as Tim meets Barry, his life starts taking a turn for the worse. I found the middle of the movie quite stressful, actually - just when you think things can't get any worse, they do. And then they keep getting worse.

Overall, the movie was cute, and very different from most movies I watch. However, I don't know that I would watch it again - the ridiculousness of the whole scenario is a little wearing, and there are many crude moments that are just completely unnecessary. Thus, it gets a 2.5 out of 5.

Well, it's been over an hour since I laid him down, and Ross is still crying. Thus, I'm going to go stand in the doorway until his sleepiness overwhelms him (hopefully it works again like it did last night).

Whatever Wednesday

Fail.

When we couldn't come up with any "wacky" ideas come Tuesday night, we decided to changed "Wacky Wednesday" into "Whatever Wednesday" to give us more options. :) So, I am deeming yesterday "Wednesday Words," and sharing my current summer reading.

A couple weeks ago, I received an email from the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute entitled "A Rocky Dating-and-Mating Road for Twenty-Something Grads." The email outlined a new book by Kay Hymowitz, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute. The title of the book is "Manning Up: How the Rise of Women Has Turned Men Into Boys." I was so intrigued by the article that I immediately got on Amazon and ordered the book. :)

Hymowitz discusses a new phenomenon, which she labels "preadulthood." The new knowledge economy has led to a much longer search for a career, something which represents an individual's "passion." People no longer work simply because they need to eat. Rather, their career represents who they are. As such, the search for their career is a much longer process. The knowledge economy has also benefitted women, who dominate much better in a workplace that requires creativity and organization rather than brute strength.

The first chapter of the book outlines the changes in the economy that led to the rise of the "preadult." The second and third chapters explain the forces which led to the revolution in women's ambitions, while chapters 4 and 5 explore the "child-man" which has resulted. The closing two chapters outline the relationship between the sexes and the challenges that result from the rise of women.

I'm only in chapter 2, but I am enjoying the book. So far, the book is merely setting up the cultural background. However, I am very interested in what kind of conclusions and observations Hymowitz will make later in the book.

The most interesting piece of information in the book relates to women's earning capacity. During my undergraduate years, I heard numerous times that "women earn 77 cents for every dollar earned by men." Of course, this was given in a "this is unfair, the next generation needs to fix this" kind of way. However, Hymowitz has some interesting studies which show that women's earning capacity is actually much higher than the feminists like to think. In its "Gender Wage Gap Final Report," the Labor Department concluded that there is a raw gender wage gap of 20.4 percent. However, the report identified several variables, which leave an adjusted wage gap that is between 4.8 and 7.1 percent. These variables are:

• A greater percentage of women tend to work part-time.
• A greater percentage of women tend to leave the labor force for child birth, child care, and elder care.
• Women tend to prefer "family friendly" workplace policies. Thus, some of the wage gap is explained by industry and occupation. 

This led to the conclusion that "There may be nothing to correct. The differences in raw wages may be almost entirely the result of the individual choices being made by both male and female workers."

Interesting, don't ya' think? Bet you've never heard those statistics before!

P.S. You can read the entire Clare Booth Luce article here.

Tasty Tuesday

After sitting out next to the pool for several hours yesterday, we had quite the appetites come dinnertime!! 

In other exciting news, my Land's End bathing suit arrived yesterday!! I LOVE it!!! It's purple (my favorite color!!), and is wonderfully well-made. I am never buying any other bathing suit again!

Several days ago we decided to try a "Dessert Pizza" for our first "official" recipe of the summer! We looked up a basic pizza crust recipe, and then added our own pizzazz to it...

Quick and Easy Pizza Crust
Servings: 2

1 1/8 tsp. active dry yeast
1/2 tsp. white sugar
1/2 cup warm water
1 1/4 cups flour
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt
Topping, below
Honey

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. By the time 15 minutes rolled around, ours wasn't very foamy, but we used it anyway. It turned out just fine!

Stir in flour, sugar, salt, and oil. Beat until smooth. Let rest for 5 minutes.

Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and pat or roll into a round.

Transfer crust to a lightly greased pizza pan. Spread with desired toppings and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Drizzle with honey.


Topping:
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

These measurements are approximate. Basically, just mix cinnamon and sugar together until it looks right. :)
Sprinkle the topping over the crust before baking.


Frosting:
4 oz. cream cheese (we used non-dairy cream cheese, but you could do it with regular)
2 tsp. sugar
1 drop vanilla

Once again, these measurements are approximate. Add the sugar and vanilla to taste. Beat with cream cheese. Microwave for 30 seconds to make it runnier. :)

Serve with a side of fresh strawberries (on sale this week!) and herbed scrambled eggs. YUM!!

Mimetic Monday

Mimesis. Semiosis. Diegesis. Yes. Fun words. For those of us whose brains do not quite function in that intellectual realm on a daily basis (poor AnnaGrace), essentially mimesis is a concept in literary theory in which a work of art exists to imitate and/or reflect its universal context. The emphasis in mimetic theory is on the relationship between the object (art) to the universe and the success and capacity of the former's ability to reflect the latter. Practically speaking, and in layman's terms, mimetic encompasses the idea of imitation and reflection.

In this case, what is the "universe" that is being imitated and/or reflected? Answer: CHILDHOOD!

The process by which we "imitated" entailed a myriad of methodologies. AnnaGrace kicked off the day by re-creating an outfit from her childhood (that just so happens to be an outfit that mimetically reflects her in the present). Thankfully, AnnaGrace's mother did not make her wear matching clothes and allowed her to dress herself in whatever way she wanted. The picture below encapsulates her style.

Mimetic Monday continued with a trip to the grocery store accompanied by a soundtrack from childhood. The playlist included, Steve Green's "Hide 'Em in Your Heart", old school Michael W. Smith (can someone
say, "nineties"?), Adventures in Odyssey, Disney movies, and Sandi Patty.

We had a dinner that was reminiscent of childhood in the form of hot dogs (a.k.a. veggie dogs), french fries, and watermelon. We capped off the day by watching Disney's "Beauty and the Beast," AnnaGrace's all time favorite Disney movie. I think that it's my new favorite, too. AnnaGrace made all sorts of new and crazy musical observations as well...what a nerd. :) Maybe she'll write a guest post later on and share. :)

Thus concludes the inaugural mimetic Monday of the summer. Stay tuned for Tasty Tuesday!

P.S. Thanks to AnnaGrace for her help on this collaborative blog post!! :) (Could you tell??)

D-Town, Job Hunting, and Summer Fun

On Friday, AnnaGrace and I hit up Dallas with our friend Erin, another South Carolinian who came to Texas for school. She is super awesome, and AnnaGrace and I always look forward to hanging out with her. Apparently she has a friend who is just like me who is also in law school, and Erin is just like AnnaGrace - how cute is that???

We went to the Dallas Farmer's Market. Since it was a weekday, there wasn't a whole lot going on, though there were lots of fruits, veggies, and plants for sale!

Photo courtesy of AnnaGrace Strange ;)

Walking around the plant shop made me want to buy all kinds of things so I can have my own garden!! I've started a collection, but unfortunately my garden will have to stay quite small for the next couple of years until I have my own place with a big backyard! :)

We also hit up several consignment shops and Goodwill - who doesn't love thrift stores?

When we got back, AnnaGrace and I made a lemonade slushie and walked down to the park near her house. One thing I love about Texas is the sky - it's SO BIG!!! For some reason, the sky just looks taller in Texas than it does in South Carolina. Maybe it's because you can see further...

Exhibit A - Large Sky

On Saturday, I spent 2 1/2 hours driving around town looking for a job. I made 10 stops, filled out 5 applications, and dropped off a couple more that I had completed at home. I ended by picking up a Caramel Frappuchino at Starbucks' Happy Hour.

Unfortunately, the job hunt has been more difficult than expected. I have filled out probably around 20 applications (I can't even remember all the places I've applied to!), and have yet to hear back from anyone. What I really want/need (besides to be a Starbucks barista!) is for a family with a couple kids to hire me to be a nanny this summer...I need some children in my life!! I've got some ideas on how to go about finding just such a family, which I implement this week. I will keep you posted! :)

And now....(drumroll please)...exciting news about my blogging plans for the summer!!!

My goal is to post every day (or, nearly every day, depending on how things go). In light of this goal, AnnaGrace and I have made nicknames for each day. We will have a different activity/recipe/movie. So get ready for lots of new recipes, movie reviews, and all-out fun!! :) :) :)

And here are the nicknames:

• Mimetic Monday
• Tasty Tuesday
• Wacky Wednesday
• Thirsty Thursday (smoothie recipes...NOT alcohol!!) ;)
• Friday Flicks
• Saturday Sweets
• Sunday Spa

Stay tuned for the post about our first "Mimetic Monday"!!!!

To-Do List

Well friends, I am back in Texas after a whirlwind week at home for Josh;s graduation. I spent the morning unpacking, watching TV, and reapplying to Starbucks. Here are just a few of the things on my to-do list:

• Find a job.(Preferrably as a barista at a coffee shop)
• Wash my car - it's been over a year since it's been cleaned. GROSS.
• Unpack - Already done!! :)
• Get my rear end back in gear and put together a training plan.
• Order a bathing suit - for all those hot Texas days that will be spent by the pool!

I'm also hoping to organize my blog this summer, in addition to lots of exciting posts! I have deemed Mondays as "Movie Mondays," so there should be lots of movie reviews headed your direction!

And now, I'm headed off to find something to eat - I'm starved, despite eating a whole box of Mac and Cheese by myself!

A recap of my week in South Carolina to come later!

Derelict

I finally had a moment to look at my blog, and realized it's been two weeks since I posted last - oops!!! I went to my aunt's house for Easter, and then was busy packing, cleaning, and studying. Or rather, attempting to study, since my motivation was at an all-time low during this set of finals.

So, here's a brief synopsis of the past couple of weeks.

First, there was Easter...

Aren't these cute??? That's real wheatgrass (and yes, it will be in my smoothies soon!)

Jocelyn and I got matching shoes at the outlets on our way up to Dallas. These are also my "Maid of Honor" shoes for a wedding in NC in June. After getting the bride's approval, I gave them a test run on Easter to make sure they are comfortable. :)

Next, was two more finals, followed by a farewell barbeque with law school buddies

Followed by meeting our newest cousin, Jake.

Isn't he adorable???

On Saturday morning, Joy, Joel, Ross, and I piled into the car for a 16-hour drive to South Carolina. The trip actually was not as bad as I anticipated. I think the stress of packing/cleaning/studying made getting in the car seem perfectly dreadful. However, we trucked right along, and made good time - about 16.5 hours, with stops!

Yesterday we went to Greenville for a mini-concert by Laura Story. She is PHENOMENAL!! Not only do I love her music, but her lyrics are quite powerful. Her song "Blessings," has become one of my song kicks lately.

Here is a live video from yesterday...followed by the youtube link so you can hear the rest of it. :)

And the rest of the song...

 

Please notice that she sounds the same in both the recorded version and the live version. I LOVE when this happens!! Seriously, it's quite a rare thing to find, and as a musician, I appreciate when someone possess real talent, instead of just "fixing" the mistakes on a CD.

After the concert, we walked around downtown Greenville for a little bit. I am quite proud of this next shot - I was fortunate enough to snap it just at the right moment!

Of course, Ross is loving all of the attention that he is getting. There is always somebody ready to hold him or laugh at his jokes. And we keep telling him how absolutely adorable he is!! This kid is going to be spoiled rotten...

Today I got to sleep in, which was a good thing, since I was up until 1am! I had a lunch date with Ashleigh, which was fantastic!! She has been doing a lot of subbing, but she had today off, so we went to Panera and spent 2 1/2 hours talking...it is SO GOOD to be home and catching up with people that I haven't seen in forever! Unfortunately, being here also makes me wish a little bit that I had never left...I hate having to say goodbye all over again. But, I'm 1/3 done with my law degree, so I am that much closer to be able to move back permanently! ;)

Tomorrow, we're off to Charleston for the day!! I am super excited...I haven't been there in 2 years!! It promises to be a lovely day, and I am sure I will take tons of pictures, which will of course make their way here. 

Bye for now!