Bible Trivia

I'm sure some of you have heard Tyler's infamous Bible trivia story. Only he can tell it as well as it should be told, but suffice it to say, it involved Noah, the F word, and a hearty dose of parental discipline. If he ever wants to be a guest blogger, I recommend that be his first post. It's high comedy.

So, when we were visiting his family this weekend, we brought Bible trivia back with us. This was prompted by my daily reading of the Bible and wanting to see if my knowledge of it was increasing. FYI - it is, but it is nowhere near where it should be if I ever wanted to play competitive Bible trivia. Luckily, I don't.

However, high comedy again ensued on the following exchange between Tyler and I as we were playing on the way back home.

Me: Why did Moses remove his shoes before approaching the burning bush?
Tyler: Because his feet were hot.

People, you couldn't pay me to write this stuff. We both laughed for about 5 miles - I even cried a little.

Home Sweet Home

There is an area in my life that is severely lacking. That's right, there's only one. Pretty impressive, right?

I seem to be missing the gene that motivates one to decorate their home. I have lived in my house for 3 1/2 years now. It looks pretty much the same as it did about 6 months after we moved in. Don't get me wrong - it looks lived in - we have furniture, we have pictures - but aren't I supposed to have the walls all decorated and curtains hung by now? I thought it was cool that I didn't have curtains because I have wooden blinds, but was informed by a friend that I really should have them. Oops. And I have great plans for artwork for the walls, but somehow, they are still blank. Except the downstairs - the place people actually see is pretty fixed up. I'm fooling everyone. MWAHAHA!

I admit part of this is due to my own laziness. But the other part, I think, is my hesitance in putting down roots here. I miss my hometown, I want to move back one day, and so it makes me feel less connected if I haven't invested a lot. Which is a little ridiculous, actually. Why would I not want to feel at home in the city I've lived in for oh, 7 years now? It is, in fact, my home after all. I'm perfectly happy here and if I ever do move away, I would miss it terribly (mostly I would just miss all my friends terribly). Or maybe all of this is just an excuse for me to be lazy. It's very possible.

But really, as long as it feels like a home, does it really matter if it doesn't look like a "house"?

However, I hereby declare that I am going to start making a concerted effort to "spruce up" the place. My role models will be: my friend, Kristin, who after being in her house for 6 months, looked like she had been there years longer and my sister-in-law, Melissa, who is a decorating rock star. As Chicago would say "You're the inspiration."

I knew I could get an 80's reference in this post.

Summer Reading

With the absence of most good television this summer, except of course, So You Think You Can Dance (and The Closer), I've had a lot more time to read. Also, I went on vacation for a week, so that helped too. Here are 2 excellent books I've read so far this summer.


The Shack by William P. Young
I'm going to have to read this book again. There's so much I missed and so much I want to go back and re-read. It's the story of Mack and his struggle with his faith and coming to know God, Jesus and The Holy Spirit. It's one of the most challenging, gut-wrenching, uplifting books I've ever read. Young has a gift for writing in a relatable, kind of folksy, way. It's like he's just a good friend, telling you a story, which made me feel the emotions so much more and understand the story in a completely different way. It caused me to re-examine my faith and look at it a different way, which is always good thing in my book. No pun intended. Well, maybe I sort of intended it. :)

Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos
This woman is an excellent writer. She is hilarious, relevant, touching and she clearly loves movies, which immediately made me love her, of course. It's an unconventional love story that's both sweet and bittersweet, filled with laugh out loud moments and "I'm not crying, I've just got something in my eye" moments. She really knows how to tell a story and I was riveted and entertained from the first sentence. Clearly, this is a completely different book than The Shack and I was glad I had chosen it to read afterwards - it was just what I needed.

Other books in the wings right now:
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
A Wife After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George
The Bible - I've never read the Bible completely through and so I've gotten a little schedule that breaks it out for me to read in a year. I'm on day 11 and I'll tell you, the Old Testament is way more fascinating than I thought.

It's shaping up to be a busy summer of reading - ahh, love it.

Hilton Head

Vacation this summer was to Hilton Head, SC for a week. I haven't been in forever, but we used to take family vacations there when I was younger, so it was nice to go back! Tyler and I went with my parents - who were going for a wedding anyway, which we in turn managed to get invited to as well and so we turned it into vacation. Score!

We stayed in Sea Pines, close to Harbour Town, where the big red and white lighthouse is. We had a lovely, relaxing time. We rented bikes and rode all around - GREAT bike paths, and it was nice to ride to get some breeze going because it was HOT down there. We also rented kayaks and went on a tour through the sound. That was fun, but I need to brush up on my kayaking skills, which, up until that point, had been, well, none. But after plowing into numerous people and not being able to remember how to go left and right, I finally got the hang of towards the end of the trip. Of course. I'll just have to practice some on the 'Hooch here in Atlanta. Tyler and my dad, however, were pro's at it.














Me, making sure I have a wide area all to myself, so as not to run into or otherwise annoy the other kayakers.














Dad, laid back, resting from his effortless paddling and kayak manuevering. Show off.














At the beach - yes, we probably are the 2 whitest people there. And combined, I think we have more freckles than stars in the sky. And Tyler, before you yell at me for posting a picture of you at the beach, please note that per our agreement, it is not a full length shot. Thank you very much.


It was so nice to have a week off work and to spend time with the folks - who I don't get to see that often and miss terribly. I was able to read 2 books while we were there, which was awesome, as I am a total book nerd. And I discovered the deliciousness that is Blueberry Cobbler Coffeemate Creamer - thanks Mom! I know, it sounds gross, but try it, it's deceptively delicious.

And with that, we come to the end of the trips planned for this year. It's kind of sad, but also nice to know we'll be home for a while! I do love looking forward to vacation though - so now I will get excited about our 4th of July trip to Huntsville to see Tyler's family. Hooray for swimming pools and fireworks!

Dance Fever!

So, summer is fast approaching, which means one thing: all my favorite tv shows are on hiatus. Also, it's 800 degrees outside. And humid.

However - there is one sparkling oasis in this hot, humid, tv show-less time of year. And it, my friends, is called: So You Think You Can Dance!












That's right - I admit it. I LOVE this show. I get excited when I hear the theme music. I can't wait to see the next Wade Robson dance. Will the breaker be able to ballroom dance? Can the contemporary dancers bring the funk to hip hop choreography? What will Cat Deely wear this week? It's television GOLD people!

So last night, they picked the top 20. And I must say, I was kind of disappointed that they didn't make the Vegas auditions last a little longer this year. I feel like I didn't get to see enough dancing or enough of the competitors. Mia Michaels KILLED some of those dancers last night with her contemporary piece - they were running on fumes, but still. Her choreography is ridiculous - and I mean that in a good way. My favorite dance ever was her park bench routine from Season 2. I might have cried a little bit.

Part of the fun of watching this show is watching it with Tyler. He DOES NOT get the contemporary dances and I love them. He's convinced he could do them just as well as the dancers on the show because really, all they're doing is "rolling around on the floor". I would advise you to ask Tyler to show you his contemporary piece to the "ER" theme song and then judge for yourselves who is more talented.

These dancers are amazing and so fun to watch. It's a million times better than American Idol, with the added bonus of not having to watch them gaze awkwardly into the camera.

One thing I don't like about the show? Mary Murphy's screaming. Seriously.

Savannah

We went to Savannah, GA for Memorial Day weekend with our super cool and very funny friends, Brenda & Jo. Here's a list of the highlights:

• Upon arrival, we discovered our hotel had caught on fire, and therefore, had been evacuated.
• Due to the aforementioned fire, we were put up at the Westin across the river for one night. Sweet accommodations and delicious free lemonade.
• Insert "Price is Right" loser theme song *here* when we arrived the next day to our room at the Hilton. Three words I would use to describe it - dingy, outdated, wet.
  
• My favorite t-shirt slogan of the weekend: "Too tired to drink. Too drunk to work." Classic. This was spotted on the beach at Tybee Island, worn by a girl no more than 18-20 years old.
• Tyler's inappropriate comments
• Jo trying not to laugh at Tyler's inappropriate comments
• Brenda's inappropriate picture-taking.
• Walking around Savannah. It was hot, but it was lovely. Savannah has a great historical district.
• The tour guide on our trolley ride around town. He had a perfect southern accent, with just the right amount of Southern snarkiness to go along with it. He reminded me a little of Beverly Leslie from Will & Grace.
• Visiting the Savannah Candy Kitchen every day. Watch out for those caramel apples though.
  
• Pizza from Vinnie VanGoGo's.
• The Cupcake Emporium
• Our waitress at The Crab Shack. There were about 487 other things she would have rather been doing than serving us. We think we unknowingly offended her. I blame Jo. :)

It was a great trip. We had such a fun time walking around, eating & relaxing. Next year, we're going to Italy, kids. Start saving. ;)

Wedding Fun

A dear friend of mine got married this past weekend in my hometown. It was such a fun weekend, filled with lots of laughter, a few tears (but happy ones), and lots of delicious food. If you haven't been to Monell's in Franklin (there's one in Germantown too, I think) - oh boy, you are in for a treat. You will be so full you might have to be rolled out, but it's totally worth it.

The bride was beautiful, of course, and I have to give props to both her and the groom for writing their own vows. The thought of this makes my palms sweat. On top of everything else to be nervous about that day, this is just the icing on the cake. But it was so sweet and they both did wonderfully, with minimal crying!

My cute little brother was also the bartender at the reception - complete with Cocktail-style moves and everything. I was so proud. :) And, we had endless amounts of fun with the bubbles, and just in general, as you can see below.























Oh yeah, Tyler was there too. :) Looking handsome, as always.