Casual Fridays

Y'all. I ate a salad as a whole meal this week. For those of you who have never met me in real life: this is major. I've been a salad hater all my life and if offered a salad on any given day my quick response is something along the lines of, "Salad is what real food eats" or "Bring me that chicken and gnocchi soup instead" or even just a basic, "Ew, yuck." But my husband is a huge fan of Zaxby's Cobb salads and every time he gets one, I always think it actually looks good. And this week, I got one for myself. Granted, I dumped salsa all over it because I have yet to find a salad dressing (outside of The Melting Pot's secret house dressing) that doesn't make me gag (which, come to think of it, is probably why I've never been a huge salad fan—who wants to eat dry lettuce??), but I actually really enjoyed it and would eat one again. It was super yummy. 10/10 would recommend to a friend.

I discovered this song by Florida Georgia Line this week, and it's been playing on repeat ever since. Don't ignore the fact that I put the actual video in this post: hit that play button. You need this feel good jam in your life. Also, if you can write lyrics that make me think of my husband, you will get my money every time. Insert some hearts and other appropriate emojis here.

Cody and I started a new puzzle, and it might actually be the death of us. We may never finish it. If you want to come over and take a stab at it, be my guest. I've been tempted to just put it back in the box, but after all the agony we went through to get even this far, I can't bring myself to do it. 

So after my last post mentioning my home pedi struggles, my best sisterfriend Lyndsey (who is my personal hair/makeup/fashion guru) texted me that I needed to get this brand for a smudge free experience, and, as always, she was so right. Loving this brand and loving this color. (Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Re-teal Therapy)

Speaking of feminine hygienic practices, I have two more things to relate. 1) I bought another Chapstick. Because I will never have enough and this Peaches-n-Cream one is my current obsession (along with that Florida Georgia Line song—have you listened to it yet?!). And 2) I gave up on the Native deodorant, y'all. It irritated my skin too much, and I finally realized there was no special way to apply it to avoid the irritation. If you don't have sensitive skin, I'd still recommend it. Their Coconut & Vanilla scent is the bomb.

Changing the subject, let's talk about something this blog is actually about: BOOKS. First of all, look at those pretty, pretty Penguin clothbound Jane Austen beauties. Personally, I would always rather buy 10 books secondhand than 1 quality new one, but I was telling my husband a few weeks ago that I'd eventually like to invest in a good set of Jane Austen's complete works, because currently my Jane Austen novels are all bound together in one paperback volume which is a little cumbersome to travel with (not that that's ever stopped me), and a few days after our conversation, this box set showed up at our door. Am I spoiled or what? I love that man for keeping me in pretty books. 

But since I just confessed that I'm a used book junkie, here's what I've found at The Book Shelter lately. And alert the media: last Saturday when I went, I walked out with just one book. My husband was so proud of me. Have you read any of these? I highly recommend Unbroken. It's one of the best biographies I've ever read. 

Let's catch up on some Link Love and call it a day.

100 Books to Read Before You Die : I love reading other people's book lists and lists of the greatest books of all time and just bookish stuff in general so I found this guy's process of creating this ultimate book list interesting, and I loved all the included links to the lists he used to help him create his own. 

Why? : This is heartbreaking. Every child should get a family. Politics are the worst, and the State Department sucks.

The Greatest Showman Medley : This is insanely good, and I can forgive him for not including my favorite song from the movie (Tightrope) because undertaking this at all is ambitious and he did it with impressive results. Mad props to this guy. 

Don't Be Yourself : The trend he addresses in this post has been bothering me for some time now, and I had been thinking about writing a post on this very topic myself, especially after reading Mere Christianity. But then I read this and thought, "He did it better. We'll just share this one." 

What have you been up to lately? What are you reading right now? 

And are you hooked on that S-I-M-P-L-E song yet??

Casual Fridays

Y'all. Casual Fridays have just died over here. Forget about it. So much time has passed. Where do we even start? I'll tell you where:

07/04/18

Because freedom and true love and the freaking 'stache. We spent our 4th of July eating way too much food and admiring Cody's magnificent facial hair. RIP The Mustache of 2018. Also, we played Euchre. Because I finally gave in and learned to play and now I'm addicted and can't stop. If you know this game, come play with me. 

Now for a proper bookish start to this post:

Here are some of the gems I've picked up at The Book Shelter lately. I think I've had pretty good self-control (considering the first time we went, I ended up with 14 books), but Cody's still a little fearful whenever I announce I'm heading for The Book Shelter. I've been back twice since that fateful anniversary trip, and along with all these fantastic books (including that Beth Moore Esther workbook which had nary a mark in it) I also scored the entire series of Parks & Rec on DVD. Because not only do they sell books, they sell board games and movies and video games—oh my! Have you read any of these? If I had to choose between Their Eyes Were Watching God, Rebecca, The Language of Flowers, or The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society for my 2019 book list, which one should make the cut? ("All of them" is an entirely acceptable answer.)

I'd probably be going to The Book Shelter a lot more frequently if I wasn't running off to the beach every spare day I get. Most of my trips have been solo, but I did manage to drag my BFF with me one day, and we ended up witnessing a totally casual wedding. (#memories) When we noticed they didn't have anyone to take a picture of the whole group, I sashayed my little bikini-clad body over to offer up my services as an impromptu photographer, much to the chagrin delight of my best friend. The family was very appreciative even though Christina wanted to melt into the sand. As you can see, my toenails haven't been entirely neglected this summer. That purple home pedi was flawless, but the beachy coral pedi was smudge city which has brought me to a new conclusion about smudgy pedicures: the nail polish brand matters. Anyone else find this to be true? 

I alluded to this in my God Is Able recap, but I didn't mention that my husband totally surprised me with these fun summery porch furniture cushions and they are making me so happy. Our porch chairs have been cushion-less since Irma, and I've been loving being able to (comfortably) spend more time outside this summer. 

06/04/18

I set a new world record Yahtzee score. (Ignore all of our confused faces, I was trying to figure out how to do a screenshot. #technicaldifficulties) But really though. 620??? That has to be a world record, right? Right?!

07/15/18

And speaking of my fellow Yahtzee Nazis (I just came up with that. Can I trademark it? Or is it offensive?), I squeezed in the quickest weekend roadtrip to see some of my favorite people recently. They're just extremely lucky I didn't smuggle my nephew home with me. Serious tears when I had to drive away from that baby. They're moving to Germany and even though they're really psyched about it, I'm still hitting my knees every morning asking God to make the Army change its mind. #sorrynotsorry Check Little Miss Thing eyeing her daddy like, "Gosh, you're so embarrassing, Dad!"

07/26/18

I got a few sweet hours with my other favorites yesterday. Thing 1 and Thing 2 are getting real good at faces-on-command. I treasure every second with these precious girls, and I hope they always love coming to Auntie Hannah's house. 

The puppies are doing good. Although between the two of them, I've cleaned up more puke this week than I would have preferred. Colonel likes to eat baby wipes so all trash cans have long been placed out of reach of either mangy mutt, but this week he managed to snitch two wipes that were literally sitting right next to me while I was changing a diaper and naturally they came back up a couple days later because baby wipes are not digestible, y'all. Don't eat them. Major regurgitated his breakfast Wednesday for no apparent reason. Perhaps he felt left out? The world may never know, and I am so over it.

Last summer around this time, I started a segment on the blog entitled "Adventures in Coloring" because my husband got me this insane grown-up coloring book. In the entire year since then, I have managed to complete two more pages. Two. And recently started a third. I'm obviously slaying. My hubby thinks the fish lips page doesn't even look finished because of how much I left white, but look at those teeny tiny scales, y'all! Haven't I done enough?!

I let some random stranger at a Fantastic Sam's hack up my hair a couple weeks ago because I was so bored with it, but, as is usually the case, I was immediately remorseful. It's hair. It grows. Whatever.

And if you've actually made it to the end of this post, I have a serious question for you. I have Mere Christianity and Othello lined up for my August reading, but I can't decide on which novel I'd like to tackle next. Should August include The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy, A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, Hinds' Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard, or Song of Deborah by Bette M. Ross? Help!

Did you make it this far? How's your summer been? To sum up: nail polish brand recommendations, 2019 book list choices, Yahtzee props, coloring encouragement, August novel vote. Annnnnd GO.

Casual Fridays

I have been doing pretty great with the book recaps (4 straight Mondays in a row, but who's counting?), but I have totally fallen off the Casual Fridays wagon. I think it's time to remedy that. Let's have a little catch-up. Go grab a hot cup of tea (or coffee, if that's your jam) and settle in for a chat because it's been a while, am I right?!

Let's start by talking about reading because duh. If you've been keeping up around here, you know that I started 2018 firing on all cylinders reading 5 whole books in January. And 4 of those were even from my 2018 book list. Go me! I wanted to start strong because I have some pretty hefty reads coming up. Since the beginning of February, I've started Anna Karenina (my first Russian) and a biography on James Madison. After finishing Part 1 of Anna and getting almost 5 chapters into J.Mad, I took a break to read Outrageous Grace (recap coming Monday!) in preparation for my church's annual missions conference. It's coming up on February 24-25 and the author is going to be there! I'm pretty psyched to meet her, especially after reading her amazing story. I'd like to try to fit Twelfth Night in during the month of February also because for the last two years in a row, I unintentionally read my Shakespearean comedy in February and my tragedy in August so now I think I should just make it an official tradition.

My cutie niece has lost teeth #5 and #6. So basically she is a grown-up and I'm an emotional mess because will they ever listen and stop growing up already?!

My husband bought me a brand spanking new 2017 Chevy Spark and it is the cutest thing I have ever driven. Seriously, it had 13 miles on it when we got it, and I don't think I've ever driven a car that new. Even rentals have more than 13 miles on them.

And it's the sweetest beachy yellow.

And it's a 5-speed.

And it has old-school handcrank windows. But there's still a place to plug in my iPod and it has a backup camera.

Basically, it's my dream car.

But just in case you're thinking my life is too good for me: keep in mind we've had to replace both our vehicles in a 6 month period, our garage door broke, and the heating element in our dryer burned out. Because apparently when you're a grown-up, everything breaks at the same time and you still have to be responsible and fix it with your own money. But you can at least look fabulous driving around your super-cute yellow Spark which you call Daisy because even though you're a grown-up that's not going to stop you from naming all your stuff.

Last weekend, my mom and I flew up to Georgia for the sweetest double baby shower. My sister Caroline and her sister Mary Lou are both expecting new babies in March and April and their other sister Theresa threw them the shower to end all showers. It was ace but the real reason we went was to see that insanely cute big-sister-to-be. Obvs. She is the main event and what we are going to do when her little brother or sister gets here I don't even know.

I have had golden toes for the past couple of weeks now, and I've decided that it's a tragedy that my toes can't permanently be this fun, sparkly color.

Like honestly, every little girl should be born with sparkly, fabulous toes.

And also, my sister Lyndsey is right, the key to a perfect pedicure is letting the coats dry completely before you add the next one. No smudges!

How are the crazies, you ask? Just as lovable as can be. I mean, look at Major all snuggled up with his boy. Give me a break. I think I got a cavity just looking at that sweetness. My sister Savannah got this fancy new phone that takes practically professional photographs. (Hence the two glamor shots on the top of the collage.) I think she really captured their two, polar-opposite personalities. Major: head up, excited about everything, ready to go. Colonel: an old soul who gets really sad when I leave for a weekend. I love them both.

Time for a throwback. Cody and I brought in the New Year celebrating with millions of people in the great state of New York. He snagged the snowy shot of me trying not to freeze to death on the right. The shot on the left is me 20 years ago (who feels old? *sob*) on possibly the hottest day of summer New York has ever experienced rocking slightly too long bangs (my signature look in the 90s) and my Tweety Pie t-shirt. My, how the times have changed.

First of all, I'm not sure which was worse: being overheated to the point of nearly passing out and never making it to the crown, or being so cold I was actually crying standing in line in the snow. But I do know that both experiences were memorable and I shared them with the people I love most in this world so both trips to Lady Liberty were a bigtime #win in my book. And I'm pretty sure I still have that calendar somewhere.

Are you so over this post yet? Oh we're not done. I said we were going to have a catch-up, and I meant it.

Let's talk Yahtzee. In the past month, I have had not just 1 but 2 record-breaking Yahtzee games. A few weeks ago (January 5th to be exact because yes, I date our scoresheets), Cody and I were playing Yahtzee with my brother and his wife and our friends Matt and Lauren over the facetime (okay, yes, we're the biggest nerds possibly on the entire planet: I can admit it), and I scored a 528. Which is nearly impossible. But then just a few days ago, I was playing Cody because he downloaded this really cool program that keeps score for you on the computer (I already admitted we were the biggest nerds on the planet, no need to rub my face in it), and he rolled a 305 which is nothing to sneeze at, but I rolled a 529.

Y'all. Just go ahead and crown me Yahtzee Queen of All Time now and forget about it. I am on fire.

Here's a cute picture of my two little munchkins you can look at while I mention that my amazing mommy-in-law graduated from nursing school in December AND she passed her NCLEX on her first try AND she got a job in a Labor & Delivery unit which is exactly what she wanted because she is such a rockstar and I am so, so proud of her, but she has all the pictures from her graduation and party so I've got nothing to show for this paragraph right now. Mommy Trina, I love you so much and I admire the heck out of you. (And I need to come steal some photos soon.)

Did you think we were done talking about books? Because we are never done talking about books. We started this post with books and we're gonna end it with books.

My sexy husband got me yellow roses and a box set of Mary Poppins books for Valentines Day this year. I can't even. That's it for my book list because no way am I not reading these this year. Despite Mary Poppins being my all-time favorite movie (seriously, just ask my mom), I have never read a single one of the books, and can you even get over how adorable these striped copies are?!

I love, love, love them.


How was your Christmas and New Years? And how have you been liking 2018 so far? Did you get anything particularly sweet for Valentines Day? Have you ever seen or sat in a Chevy Spark? They are the teeniest, tiniest, cutest cars! What have you been reading lately? Catch me up with you!

Casual Fridays

Where to even start? It's been a hot minute since we had a Casual Friday around here, and let me tell you why:

We got another puppy! I'm so kidding (what do you think I'm insane?!), but we did have him over for a few days while his family was out of town. We also went to Alabama for a weekend and finally got to spend time with my entire family. It's been way too long since we had all been together. Like, over two years, y'all. That's too long.

We had a Celebration of the Reformation concert at my church in which I was part of the choir, both puppies have had health issues lately, Halloween came and went, work, dentist, AWANA: suffice it to say, things have been busy around here.

But not too busy for me to read two books in the last two weeks. Sunset Lullaby by Robin Jones Gunn (the very last book from my 2017 book list!) and Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie. 

What can I even say about this precious book? It was the perfect way to wrap up the series I've been reading for over 15 years now. I was actually bawling at the end. That's not an exaggeration. I was ugly-crying, y'all. In the best way. I'm not planning to recap this one, so let me just say that I really do think this was the perfect way to end the Christy Miller saga. However, Robin has announced that she has begun writing a new book to be the first in the Gather series in which Christy will be a main character. I have mixed feelings about this because it's all about a group of young moms encouraging and supporting each other during the child-raising years. I'm not in that club, but, as you know, I love Robin Jones Gunn and everything she touches. So....to read or not to read: that is the question.

There will be a recap of Murder on the Orient Express coming to a blog near you soon (hint: this blog, Monday) so that's all I'll say about that for now. I'm currently reading a biography of Thomas Jefferson (over halfway done!), Anne of Green Gables (for like, the hundredth time), and the Gospel of John. Which brings me to something I've always wondered about: what do you think the relationship between Jesus and John the Baptist was like before Jesus' ministry years? I mean, they were related and John's mother certainly understood who Jesus was. Don't you think she told John stories growing up about the miraculous circumstances surrounding his own existence, his father's dumb days, that his cousin Jesus was the Messiah? Do you think John and Jesus ever met each other and played together at family reunions when they were boys? I wonder about these things.

Did you really think you'd get out of this post without me gushing at some point or other about my nieces? Let's just start with the top left: are they not the cutest trick-or-treaters on the planet? Especially that little ladybug. I can't. And what does the top right say to you? Pure joy? Correct. Bottom left: my oldest niece is a ballerina. Not for Halloween, she has started taking ballet classes. Her recital at the beginning of December is literally the biggest deal on my calendar right now. And obviously, I am my niece's B.F.F. That goes for all of them, bottom right there is just the mascot. Insert all the heart-related emojis imaginable. 

We have completed another puzzle, you guys. And when I say "we" I really just mean "me". I did this one almost completely by myself. And I finished it in like a week. I was addicted to this puzzle. I need to go get some custom frames made for this one and the pumpkin one. 12x34 inches. I'll probably go to Michael's but does anyone know of any other place that does custom framing that might be better (read: cheaper)?

I gave myself a pedicure recently, and I once again achieved smudge-free status! I think my BFF Lyndsey's trick of doing thin coats and letting them dry completely is the key. My toes were sorely in need of some TLC, and I actually went to Tips & Toes for a real pedi, but after waiting over 45 minutes with not even an acknowledgement from anyone that I was even there (and three other ladies coming in for scheduled appointments and no one acknowledging THEY were there either), I left and went home to do it myself. I mean, can you really beat having two puppies snuggled up to you with Gilmore Girls on the TV while your toes dry? I think not.

And speaking of Gilmore Girls, I've finally decided that I'm not #TeamJess or #TeamLogan or #TeamDean (I can't even believe there are #TeamDean people in the world, but apparently they exist); I've decided I'm #TeamMarty (which could also be called #TeamNakedGuy if we wanted to get cute about it). He definitely got the shaft and if Rory really does turn out as horribly as A Year In The Life made her out to be, then Marty's the only guy on her level. Jess is too good for her. Yeah, I said it. 

And if you're still reading, you may remember from back at the beginning of this never-ending post that I mentioned my poor, sweet puppies having health drama lately. Colonel somehow got a staff infection which meant we had to shove pills down his throat twice a day for two whole weeks, and now Major is getting over pink eye which means we've been putting some kind of steroid goop on his eye all week. (Don't get me started.) They are the best, but they have been a bit on the high-maintenance side lately. Bless.

Ok. We've been here way too long. I just have to throw in a quick plug for my latest obsession: Heather Land - I Ain't Doin It. She is hilarious and you need her in your life.

Also, my birthday is one week from today. Please consider donating to Compassion in honor of me turning 30. So far, we've raised enough money for 4 water filters and we're halfway to a 5th one, but if we're going to make it to 30, we've got a ways to go.

Much love, homies. Over and out.

Casual Fridays

We haven't done a Currently I'm... post in a while and frankly, the Casual Fridays muse has not been with me lately so today we're taking it easy and just having a chatty, catch-up with each other kind of day. Sound good? Good. Let's begin.

Reading...

... Deuteronomy.

... John Adams by David McCullough and really enjoying it. I was hoping to finish it up in February, but that is definitely not going to happen.

Watching... 

... Bones Season 12. Word on the street is that this is for real the final season. I can't believe it, and I seriously don't know how they're going to tie it up in the next 4 episodes because that's all that's left.

... Parks and Rec. It seems to me that the last time I did a Currently I'm... post I was talking about Parks and Rec. We did finish it and thought it was hilarious and recently decided to re-watch it since I missed Season 1 and half of Season 2 the first time around. I think it's even funnier watching it after you've already seen it and have a feel for the characters. #TeamDonna She's my fav.

... One Tree Hill. Y'all. It pains me to admit this, but I got sucked into One Tree Hill land. I had never seen a single episode in my life, but I was feeling sick or something one day last year sometime and decided to watch an episode just to see what it was all about and lo and behold, I'm now on the final season. Speaking of which, I feel like the show should have ended 3 times, but they just won't quit. Seriously. The series finale on the River Court at the end of high school--should have been the end. The series finale after P. Sawyer has her baby--should have been the end. The series finale with Jamie dribbling the basketball across the bridge--definitely should have been the end. But they just have to wring every last penny out of a show until you hate it, I guess. Don't writers and producers and whoever else has any say in the matter have any sense of pride or integrity in creating a show that tells a story and ends well?? Is it that hard to pull the plug?? End rant. And P.S. this is not an endorsement or a recommendation to watch OTH. That show has more drama than a high school theater club. 

Listening...

... to Switchfoot's Where the Light Shines Through album. It's their latest, and it's on point per usual.

... to Train's a girl a bottle a boat album. It just came out a couple weeks ago, and it is a feel good record in every way. Train and Switchfoot are my two favorite bands, I always keep up with them, and they have yet to disappoint me.

... my James 5:13 playlist. Part of James 5:13 says, "Is anyone happy? Let him sing praise." This playlist has 100 of my happiest praise songs to Jesus, and I love cranking it up and belting it out.

Jonesing...

... for a beach day. This Florida girl starts to get a little restless for some sand and saltwater come February, but the weather hasn't been quite there yet. Soon.

... for cupcakes. I'm not usually a big desserts girl, but lately I have been craving cupcakes. Maybe I should just make a batch and get it over with, but I'm trying to have some self-control here.

Recovering...

... from the flu. It seems like Cody and I have been fighting illness since the beginning of the year and last week, it won. We both went down hard, but this week, I have finally been feeling really good for the first time in weeks. Yay health!

... from Hacksaw Ridge. Cody and I watched this movie Wednesday night, and I'm still feeling sad. War movies always depress me. But if you can handle some pretty gory war violence (I had to cover my eyes a few times), I would recommend this one. It's a true story and one worth telling.

Memorizing...

... Psalm 34:4. We're on Verse 4 of SSMT so since February 15th, I've been working on adding "I sought the Lord and He heard me and delivered me from all my fears" to verses 1-3 of Psalm 34 which I've got pretty well memorized at this point. (Also, I just typed that from memory and besides missing two commas: #nailedit)

Trying...

... to keep my house clean. With two energetic puppies and a backyard that is turning into a giant pit of sand because dogs, the struggle is real.

... to decide if i should read The Taming of the Shrew this weekend so that I can complete two books from my list within the month of February. I only have 12 books on my list this year, but I'd like to keep the pace up because March-May always seems to be a difficult time of year for my reading life. Thoughts?

... to work the word "Zamzummims" into my regular vocabulary. I discovered this word yesterday in Deuteronomy 2:20, and I kindof love it. They were giants in the land of Canaan, and doesn't that sound like something Dr. Seuss would call them? Maybe I could use it as a Christian cuss word. Before you come looking to burn me at the stake, watch this video. Imagine stubbing your toe and shouting out "Zamzummims!" I think it could work.

Loving...

... my thoughtful husband who gave me this beautiful ring for Valentines Day that says "Our Love is Forever" on the inside. He is the sweetest.

... my most recent home pedicure. You guys, I achieved smudge-free status! I waddled around my house like a penguin most of the day Wednesday to accomplish this long sought after dream, but it was worth it! My toenails look so pro. Oh you want to see a picture? Wish granted.

... these sweet dogs because even though they're a total mess, they make up for it by being the most loyal, loving, cuddly little buddies, and I would hate not having them around.

What's currently going on with you?

Casual Fridays

Well, it's September (what?!) and I'd say it's about time for a proper catch-up and what better way than with a Photo-Prompted Post, amiright? Here's what's been going on lately in no particular order:

First of all, this. This is what I'm dealing with over here. Anytime I'm blogging, reading, cleaning, watching TV, or even going to the bathroom (TMI?) I have these two shadows who apparently think my life should just revolve around them 24/7 and what's the problem with us constantly putting our heads in your lap, Hannah? I love it though. I realize that dogs are not for everyone, but really, why aren't they?! Love my two little buddies and this will not be the only picture of them in today's post. Duh.

Look at Auntie Hannah's big girl doing schoolwork. I can't even believe she's old enough, but this is officially her first year of school, and she is so smart. Every time I see her, she is telling me all the new things she's learned. Pre-K ain't got nothin' on this girl--or her awesome homeschoolin' momma!

And speaking of her momma, we had a big Girls Night Out the other night to celebrate her amazing weight-loss accomplishments. She's working that post-baby body into shape (and looking fabulous, by the way), and what better way to keep that motivation up than to splurge on some cheesecake after going at it hard for 30 days straight. Way to go, Lynds, and just know that I will always be available to blow your healthy eating lifestyle with you when you need to. Because sometimes, you really just need to.

The monsters and I braved Lake Hollingsworth this week. It's the first time we've been back since the Major-Dragging-Me Debacle from the beginning of the summer. I still have a pretty ugly scar from that day, but I'm happy to report that we made it all the way around with no major (get it? Major...) incidents. They're finally done with the construction so we didn't even have to brave any scary orange fencing or anything. And on top of that, the weather was beautiful. I can feel Fall coming.

As you may have noticed, I broke my awesome recap-ing streak this week. I mean, obviously I can't keep that pace up. I'm not trying to read 52 books this year, I'm trying to read 20. So that means we don't get a new recap every single week. But that was a pretty great run (6 weeks in a row!), and it was a little disappointing coming to the end of it. This is the book I'm currently reading, and I'm actually hoping to have a recap up Monday, but no promises. I love Elisabeth Elliot, and this book just makes me love her even more.

I mean, just look at these guys. They're my favorite.

A couple weeks ago, Cody had a work party and we totally went because we're totally grown-ups and grown-ups go to "work functions" with their "colleagues" and what-not. I've noticed around the internet that people are calling this kind of thing "adulting" lately, but I personally have decided that if you're using the word "adulting"--you're doing it wrong. Anyway, the party was super-fun, super-ritzy, and Cody works with some super-cool people. As the trophy wife, it's nice being able to finally put faces with names. (And yes, I did just refer to myself as Cody's trophy wife.)

We had a (kindof) beach day recently, and even though we weren't on the actual beach long enough (it was a crazy day), I loved getting to spend some time with my nieces and sisters. And check out this little blonde beach babe. I love this crazy kid to pieces. We snagged this quick shot together post-beach, pre-lunch. (Yes, we were off the beach before lunch...like I said, crazy day.)

New Rule: when we finish a 1000-pc puzzle, it gets glued and framed immediately. I mentioned in my last puzzle post that when we first tried to put that middle one together, our niece got to it and it had to go back in the box for a while. Well, it happened again. We had some friends over several weeks ago and their little boy got to our State Plates puzzle (which was completed and waiting to be glued) and took it completely apart and put it in the box of the Noah's ark puzzle. Hence, our New Rule. Thankfully, of the three 1000-pc puzzles we've done since we've been married, the State Plates one is the easiest and after a week or two, I got it out, put it back together, and glued that baby pronto. I'm really loving having them actually up on the wall.

My amazing mommy(in-law) started nursing school this week. We are so proud of her. She is one determined, hard-working woman, and I'm so thankful she's my husband's mother. She raised him well, and she still continues to set an excellent example for all of her children and their spouses. We love you, Mommy!

Look at this baby, y'all. Just look at her! I can't even with that smile, and apparently, she started rolling over this week. I'm feeling very conflicted about her hitting these milestones because my reaction waffles between "yay! she's SuperBaby!" and "stop growing up, Auntie Hannah misses you, Japan is too far away!" It's rough. 

This is the piece I've been working on lately, and let me tell you, it's been kicking my butt. It's an arrangement that blends Blessed Assurance with Bach's Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring. It's beautiful. Not so much when I'm plucking it out, but it's starting to come together. As much as I'd love to be able to sit down at the piano and be able to just flawlessly play anything you set in front of me, I'm not that good. Practice, practice, practice.

Glamor Shot! Isn't he sweet?

The latest with this pup is that he's been chasing his own tail a lot these days. This isn't something that Colonel ever really did much, and I think it's hilarious. He keeps us laughing.

Oh you guys, I am getting fancy with the PhotoGrid app. Cody and I went to our first Orlando City soccer game on Sunday, and it was fantastic. This was one of Cody's birthday presents, and we had so much fun. We're big soccer people to start with, but the OC fans are insane and that just makes it that much better. We got rained on--completely soaked--but WE WON (2-1) and nothing was bringing our spirits down.

I realize that I haven't given you guys a pedicure update lately. (I also realize that you probably don't care that much about my toes.) But rest assured, I've been giving my feet the TLC they deserve and my most recent pedi attempt has been the most successful one in a long time. No smudges!

Are you so done with this post? Have any of you even made it this far? One more photo to wrap it all up:

Have an awesome weekend and fill me in on what's been up in your life lately down in the comments!