New Restaurants

I have had quite the adventurous summer so far! In the past few weeks alone, I have gone to the lake, been kayaking twice, tried 5 new restaurants (and one new cuisine!), had fun mini-dates and all-day dates with G, and gone to a concert. Whew! I'm just trucking through my 30 at 30 list!

New Restaurants

I've tried 4 new restaurants with Greg and 1 with Amy and I have liked each and every one of them! See, this is why I needed to branch out!

The first restaurant Greg and I tried was The Egg & I. My mom went there with a friend a while ago and liked it, so one Saturday morning Greg and I decided to check it out. They are only open for breakfast and lunch, and we got there at prime brunch time. I got the Raspberry Granola Pancake. It was fantastic. I'm actually kind of drooling a little just thinking about it.


A few days later, we decided to visit Cazzy's Corner Grill.


Photo from Cazzy's Google+ page

We'd driven by a few times, and finally we decided to step in. I'm glad we did! I had the Cheddar Chutney Burger for a little sweet and salty flavor. I was impressed. Greg got the Smothered Chicken and said it was really good. I'm guessing so since all I got to try was a green bean!

The next stop on our culinary tour was Fulin's. This one is actually pretty close to Cazzy's. When they first opened there were dozens of little signs that said "Fulin's now open!" So the running joke with Greg and I was to say "no foolin'! Fulin's is now open!" Eventually we made our way in, though. It really doesn't look like much from the outside, so we were both surprised by how nice it was. I got the orange chicken and hot and sour and a split a sushi roll w/ G. Greg and I agreed that we'd go back and recommend it to people.

My last new restaurant with Greg was First Watch.

Like The Egg & I, it's only open for breakfast and lunch. I had to take a picture for Amy because they not only had hazelnut creamer on the table, but the also left the water and coffee carafes. Running out of beverages was not going to be a problem! I got the Chickichanga. As heavy as it looked, I really wasn't overstuffed when we left. And the fruit salad didn't have any cantaloupe (one of the few foods I don't like)! Winning!

My latest new culinary adventure was with Amy! We've both been saying we wanted to try Indian cuisine for about a year now and we finally did last night! We decided to check out Bombay Palace.

I was so impressed! They were pretty busy for a Tuesday, which is always a good sign with restaurants. As a matter of fact, we got the last open table. Our servers were all wonderfully attentive and the food was delicious! We'll definitely be going back!



Lucky 13

I have always said that 13 is one of my lucky numbers (along with 3, 7, and occasionally 87), and that is also true for Friday the 13th. I'm not saying that every Friday the 13th is rainbows and unicorns, but generally they turn out to be a good day overall. I'm (sort of) happy to say that today was no different. But I'm also happy that I got a reminder that luck and good fortune don't always look the way we might expect.

Today, my car sounded it's death rattle. It was kind of sudden actually. I went to work without a problem, and even went on a coffee run with no issues. But when I tried to go on my lunch break a few hours later the engine wouldn't turn over. Now, I've left my lights on more times than I care to admit, so I knew it wasn't a dead battery, but it definitely was not starting. I waited a few minutes and tried again to no avail. So I called Amy. (Not that I thought she could physically help me, but I needed to freak out to my bff, yanno?) While I was on the phone with her, I got the car to start, but it was shuddering really badly and made me nervous to drive. Needless to say I turned it back off. Amy kindly agreed to meet me after work and follow me home to make sure I got there safely.

Then I called Greg and cried. I know, emotional manipulation, but I couldn't help it. (Did I mention I woke up at 4:30 this morning and couldn't go back to sleep? My nerves were already fried). He talked me down, then started looking at cars online and calling around. After a bit of back and forth, we decided to go car shopping tomorrow.

The whole drive home I was incredibly nervous. The car shuddered and jerked and jumped. When I finally got home, Amy told me my car was sparking the whole way. Actually, she said something along the lines of  "it looked like you were chain smoking and throwing them out the window." Awesome. God bless her, she's coming to take me to work at 5:30 tomorrow morning, and Greg is picking me up after my shift. I truly am blessed in my friends.

So, how do I consider it  a lucky day? Well, I don't normally leave work during my break. If I had stuck to my usual routine, I wouldn't have known anything was wrong with my car until close to 6pm. At that point Greg wouldn't have been available to call dealerships for me (he had plans to see The Hobbit tonight), and Amy might not have been able to follow me home. Finding out early gave me time to mentally prepare for the idea of buying a car, making car payments, and so on.

It also gave me time to remember to trust God. He has been calling me to trust Him for a while now, and I just haven't been able to do it. No, I have trusted God. I haven't trusted that I was accurately listening to what He was telling me to do. This is a pretty blatant sign that He wants me to trust in His provision. Yesterday, I was sending verses to one of the girls in my small group, and today I was reading them myself. I'll leave you with one that is echoing around my heart today.

Ha... as I posted this, I realized the verse number is 13... Told you it was a good number. 

Playing Ketchup

Get it? Ketchup, catch up... I love a good (or bad) pun! Anyway, I'm behind, so here's what I'm thankful for on days seven through twelve.

Seven: I'm thankful for bad days. Now that may seem like I'm being a little sarcastic, but I promise I'm not. See, November 7 was supposed to be an awesome day according to my calendar. Not only was is pay day, but I had plans to apply for my passport (more on that later). Oh, but the day was anything but awesome. I had to go to three different places before I found the place I was supposed to turn in my application. Then the clerk was hemming and hawing about whether or not the government would accept my birth certificate because it had a watermark instead of an embossed seal. Seriously? And all of this was before I had to go to work, which was a whole other story in non-awesomeness. So why am I thankful for bad days? Because they make me appreciate the little things that go right on days like that. And they help me appreciate the good days that much more.

Eight: I'm thankful for my best friend forever for life for real, Amy. What can I say about such and awesome person God has put in my life? She is my mental twin. She is who I go to when I need to know what I think about a situation. I swear, sometimes she can explain my own thought process to me better than I can. She is also someone who I can talk to about spiritual matters which is such a wonderful development in our friendship. After 10 years of friendship, we have reach the point of no return where there is quite literally nothing I feel awkward telling her. And she makes random boring errands not so boring (also known as "fundane"). I don't know where I'd be without her, and I don't really care to find out.

Nine: I'm thankful for vacations, and something to look forward to. This is where 7 and 8 come together. I haven't had a vacation since Greg and I went to Destin in August of 2012. Well, my bffflfr decided that since I'm turning the big 3-0 next year, I needed to go on a cruise for my birthday. But, since her store will be crazy busy around the time of my birthday, we're going in February. Where are we going, you ask? To the Bahamas. I've never been out of the country (hence the passport), so I am super excited. Did I also mention that Amy is paying for the trip? I told you I was thankful for her. I don't know what I did to deserve friends like her, but I'm glad I did it and I'll try to keep doing it! PS, we leave in 86 days!!!

Ten: I'm thankful for pressure cookers. I know, a little random. The other day I made a huge batch of vegetarian chili (aka vegetable soup with beans) and didn't have room to store it in the fridge. My grandmother gave us a pressure cooker not too long ago to use for canning, so I canned 8 jars of the chili for later. I'm excited to be able to have that on a day where maybe I don't feel like cooking. I have many plans for more canning adventures in the near future.

Eleven: I'm thankful for our veterans and their families. My grandfather served in the Army, my uncle in the Marines, and I have several extended family members in various other branches. I have the utmost respect for the people who put their lives on the line so we can enjoy things we take for granted. I'm also thankful for their families who support them as they take those risks.

Twelve: I'm thankful for the blogosphere. Not just my little blog here in the corner of nowhere, but all of the bloggers who put so much time and effort into their blogs to provide people with information, inspiration, and entertainment. There have been so many times that I have needed something and found exactly what I needed through a blog. Crafting, recipes, bible studies, workouts, and so on... I'm just so happy it all developed.

Ok, I think that gets me through today. I'll try to be more regular with the rest of the month, but I make you no promises. :-)

In Motion

Aw, my last post for the challenge! How sad. Ok not really, but anyway!

This may have been in slow motion, but it is in motion.

Amy, Greg, and I went to a lame festival balloon festival yesterday. This one was taking off as we walked down to the "fun." Sadly, it was almost the best part of the day. I had a great time, but that was because of who I was with. Those two make going to pay bills fun.

Purchased

Hey... were you aware that I really like the Wizard of Oz? Were you also aware that McDonald's recently had Oz toys in their happy meals? I discovered this completely by accident, but then had to have these.

For the record, you can buy happy meal toys without the happy meal for $1.50. :-)

They had these lovely ladies, Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion, but all I wanted were the witches. I posted this picture to Instagram, tagging Amy and saying which witch is which? We alternate... although I think both of us are stuck on Elphaba at the moment.

Something old

Something old? This may be the oldest thing I have a picture of...

Lady Liberty herself. Not only is she old, but this picture is old, too! I snapped this when Amy and I were in NYC way back in 2010.

Where I slept

Throw back! You are not getting a picture of my bed right now, mostly because I don't feel like making it. So here is the tiniest bedroom I have ever slept in (including the time I slept in a closet).

This was the room, and the bed, Amy and I shared in NYC back in 2010. I have another picture of her in the middle of the room, nearly touching both walls. Crazy!

On the shelf

I can't be alone in this... If I see something interesting at the store, I will take a pic and text it to someone. Anybody else? No? Ok, well you're missing out. It saves you from forgetting to tell them about it all together. Anyway! I was at Target when I saw these adorable little cups.

I have no need or use for them, but I felt like Amy had to know they existed. And now you do, too! Look, I even included the price. You're welcome.

My shoes

I love shoes. I really do. I'm not a total fashionista, or even a baby fashionista, so I'm not in love with the newest styles or the crazy heels (although I do have a pair of boots that nearly put me on par with Greg's 6'5" frame). My downfall tend to be sneakers. And I am totally in love with the trend of brightly colored kicks everywhere (yes, Amy, I just said kicks). Right now, I am in love with these...

Yes, you've seen this pic before, but we're looking at my shoes now. They are BRIGHT pink with neon yellow laces. They enter the room before 5 minutes before I do. I think I love the colorful shoe trend mostly because my work uniform is all black and I like to add a bit of color where I can.

Technology

Happy technology day here on the Photo Challenge! I'm super excited about this one because I just got this today!!!!!!! (<---You can tell it's legit excitement because there are so may exclamation points.)

It's true folks, I have joined the tablet generation! I am the proud owner of a Nook HD+. I've wanted one for a while now, but I couldn't decide what to get. Did I want a Kindle Fire, or should I get an  Android tablet and download the Kindle app? I have seriously been having this conversation with myself for the past 5 months. Any time I would decide one way or the other, something would happen to change my mind. Really, I was leaning towards buying a tablet and getting the app, but which tablet??? And if anyone knows me, they know that if I can't make a decision about something, I just won't. Either I'll get both or neither. I'm odd like that.

So today, Amy and I were out running some random errands when I stumbled across the Nooks as Target. I had not even considered them in the running for what I wanted. However... On the display it had in big, bold graphics that the Nook now supported to Google Play store. So... I can get all of my fabulous Android apps? I can even download the Kindle app? On a 9" HD screen? For $150? Yes, please!

Although, apparently a lot of people recognized what a great deal this was because the local Target was sold out of them. The nice Electronics guy called another store, but they were sold out, too. Amy and I were walking out to her car when I decided to try calling one Target that people kind of forget about (I have an option of 4 different Targets, all within about 25 minutes of my house), and voila! They had 3! Amy and I drove out there and now I have my tablet. See? All of my decisions should be that quick.

My favorite color

It's time for day 4 of the Photo Challenge with Amy! You can see her posts here, and you can look at my other posts in this challenge here. Anyway today's challenge was my favorite color. This is actually kind of a difficult one to answer. Generally, if someone asks me my favorite color, I'll say teal or turquoise, but really, it changes. It's not because I don't have one, it's because it's fluid. Literally. My favorite color is water.

[source]

Obviously not clear water in a glass, but my favorite color is that blue/green of a crystal clear body of water. And just like water, it changes slightly from day to day. Sometimes I like it more to the blue side, sometimes more to the green.  For a Taurus, I'm awfully wishy-washy.

What I Wore

As I mentioned yesterday, Amy suggested that we do a photo challenge this month. Today's challenge was "what I wore." This was both the easiest and the lamest challenge for me ever. Without further ado, here's what I wore today.

Or every day...

I know, I know, but I had to work today! Uniform shirt, yoga pants, bright pink shoes. We're only allowed to wear black pants, so my accessories are usually really bright. Not pictured: my teal watch and my work fleece pullover. Yes, on a 95-degree day I felt the need to wear a fleece pullover. It was FREEZING at the front desk this morning. The gym is kept cold for the benefit of those working out, so don't be surprised when you see gym employees wearing jackets when it's hot outside.

Ok, obviously I didn't have to work all day. Greg got home from Dragon*Con today, so I met him for dinner. This is what I wore then:

Madras plaid shirt from Old Navy, shorts, flip flops... really the bottom half has been my non-work uniform for most of the summer. Accessories for the day: my promotion necklace from Amy and my Invicta Angel watch from Greg.



Did you noticed that I chopped my head off in both pictures? Yeah, that wasn't on accident. I told you I feel awkward in selfies. 

Best Friend Bucket List: Photo Challenge

Amy and I have a shared Pinterest board entitled Best Friend Bucket List. Mostly it's a collection of places we want to visit and things we want to do when we get there. However, a few days (weeks?) ago she posted this photo challenge for us to try.

Apparently the original blog has been deleted

Side note: It bugs me that it was originally an August Challenge and only has 30 days on it... But I'm ok with doing it for September!

Anyway, today is a self-portrait. Can I just tell y'all how much I don't like taking pics of myself? I feel like a straight up dork. I will totally take a pic of you and I together, but pictures of just myself? Thanks, but no thanks. Luckily I took a picture of myself yesterday, so we're going to use that. It should be noted that I took this photo to show Amy what a hot mess I was (we were about to meet for lunch, and she was warning me that she was hot and sweaty from work).

I had just finished back-to-back Core and Power classes at the gym. I was rocking a serious calorie deficit and trying to refrain from eating everything in Kroger. Let's talk about this one for a second, shall we? No make up, frizzy hair, workout attire, looking tired/awkward, grocery store. Yeah, I think this is a pretty good self-portrait. 

Here's why I feel this is a pretty accurate self-portrait:

1. I very rarely wear make-up. Don't get me wrong, I love make up! But I have a hard time finding colors that work and don't wash off when my crazy allergy eyes kick in. Plus, I work at a gym, so having a full face of make up doesn't make a whole lot of sense on a day-to-day basis.
2. Frizzy hair... Ok, this is not always the case, but it has been this summer. I swear it has been so humid this summer my flat iron is collecting dust. Actually, I don't even know where it is. Sometimes I can tame it with product... but they are expensive, I am broke, and there's no sense in wasting it when I'm going to have to shower after the gym anyway. 
3. These days I am in workout attire for about 85% of my life. I am at work for the bulk of my day, and my uniform is workout pants/capris and a performance top. Otherwise I'm training with Lorrie, taking a class, or trying to work out on my own. It has gotten to the point where there's not much reason for me to buy new "regular" clothes because I so rarely get to wear them. 
4. I am always tired these days. I get exhausted just thinking about what I need to deal with. And the awkwardness comes from taking a dang selfie. Maybe it's because I'm not great at self-promotion? 
5. I end up at some grocery store almost Every. Single. Day. Mostly this is to grab something to eat before work. This time I was buying the stuff to make Game Day Chili. I know my life would be so much easier if I thought ahead and bought stuff at once, but that's not how my brain works these days. I blame #3. 

So, there's day 1. We'll see how well I keep up with this. :-)

Fun with Shrinky Dinks

I told you I was going to get craft-tastic for Amy's birthday! This one involved an old school with some Shrinky Dinks. I had this idea about 30 hours before I was supposed to meet her for her birthday dinner... What is it about last minute inspiration? Oh well.

First a back story. Amy's stepson once said that she and I were Mental Twins. I'm not entire positive what he meant by that, but we decided it was true. More often than not we will be thinking the same thing or similar things, even if we're not in the same place and haven't spoken in a few days. For example: Several weeks ago I was shopping with Greg and saw this:

Discovered at JCP

Since Amy has a little mini-obsession going with octopuses lately, I took a pic meaning to text it to her. For some reason I didn't, but I saw it in my phone the other morning and decided to send it to her... at the same time that she was hanging up a giant poster she painted of an octopus. Mental twin powers activate!

Which is what led to this project.

This was a total Pin-spired project. I got the original idea from something I pinned a few months ago. I found the background here and played around with it in Paint until I liked the color combo. Then the font was found here (I used Badaboom). I messed around in PowerPoint until I got that looking right. Then it was time to print...

A) You need to print it kind of faded so it will look right after it bakes. B) I made the colors inverted because I was going to make one for her and one for me, but then I couldn't decide which to give her and which to keep, so I just to put both on each of them. If I can't make a decision, I don't. :-)

Next I trimmed them and put the hole at the top. FYI, a single hole-punch is the perfect size for a jump ring. Then I baked them in my pre-heated toaster (yes, I felt like I was using an Easy Bake Oven). When they were done I let them cool and painted them with diamond glaze to protect it. I had read that the colors can bleed if they get wet, plus it added a little extra shine. Once the glaze was dry to the touch I added the jump ring.

It was fun. Other people may see something similar for Chrismas. :-)

Let your light shine

I don't know if y'all realize exactly how much I love birthdays. While I like to have fun on my own birthday, I love celebrating my friends and family even more. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned how much I love the feeling of finding a gift that screams someone's name at me. Sometimes it's a ready made gift on the shelf; sometimes it's just a piece of a gift and I have to figure out where to go with it. That's what happened with Amy's gift this year.

I was at Hobby Lobby looking at something she had pointed out when we were there before, but I couldn't decide what to do with it. I was staring off into space, trying to figure out what to do with the transfers when I saw this:

Black? Silver? Chandelier? Amy written all over it!  And within 30 seconds I decided what to do with it. Enter gray damask scrapbook paper and black glitter tape from Hobby Lobby, a silver picture frame from Dollar Tree, and the computer/printer.

The hardest part was deciding which Bible verse to use. I found a font on Pinterest. Can I just take minute to say how much I love browsing fonts on there? So many options! I found the font in this post, and I chose Grand Hotel. Making that choice made the whole thing have a vintage luxury hotel feel with the wallpaper and chandelier... maybe it's just me. Anyway! I set the paper margins to 5" x 7" and put my text towards the bottom of the page. I printed it and cut it to fit in the frame (it was an 8.5" x 11" sheet of scrapbook paper), then I glued on the chandelier. While it dried, I covered the matte board (originally an off-white) with the black glitter tape. Then I put it all together. Ta-da!

"You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let you light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."

Matthew 5:14-16, NIV

I'm really impressed with the way it turned out! I think the black glitter really helps set it off. The frame I found is more like a shadow box; there is a good 1/4-inch of space between the glass and the paper. That isn't why I got it (I got it because it was the only frame I saw at Dollar Tree that wasn't some shade of brown), but it is an added bonus since the chandelier is not totally flat.

It's classy! And totally Amy. 

The Bravest

First and foremost, I need to wish a slightly belated birthday to my Best Friend, Mental Twin, Partner in Crime, and all around Long-Lost Sister, Amy!

Blurry and off-center because we were shaking from
freezing at the UT/KY game last year

I have now officially wished her a happy trip around the sun on Facebook (twice!), Twitter, text, and now via blog. That should be enough for now. She was lucky enough to spend her actual birthday with her mom in Destin, FL. I'm only slightly jealous... Mostly I'm happy she got to take a (much needed) vacation! We're going to celebrate her birthday at her happy place, Lakeside Tavern, on Sunday, which gives me a few more days to get her gift put together. Yes, I know, it's already belated. What's my problem? Shh. But seriously, I'm pretty pleased with the way it's turning out. I just need to finish up. Hopefully I'll have time to do that tomorrow.

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This past weekend was pretty great. Greg's friend Moose was given 4 tickets to the Braves (or Bravest according to my auto-correct) game for Friday Night, and he asked Greg and I to join him. Moose and I had recently been talking about the fact that I had never been to a Braves game, so when he asked I jumped at the chance. I don't know if I was more excited about the game or taking a 1/2-day off from work, but I was pumped!

I knew it was going to be a good trip when I found this at a gas station in Georgia:

Amy and I have a long running joke about these being the "holy grail of cola beverages" because we can never find it individually sold in a 20oz bottle around here. I saw it and knew I was in for a good time!

We got to Turner Field about an hour and a half before the game started. Moose and his dad decided to go autograph hunting, so Greg and I meandered around the lower level of the stadium for a while.

There was a huge mural with all of the team name changes and moves over the years (apparently the Atlanta Braves started as the Boston Redstockings), and this one cracked me up. I mean I know Boston is famous for their beans, but still... Oh well.

I also made G take a pic with me in front of the bullpen. Really, I was looking to update my fb profile pic and I don't like taking selfies alone... Is is still a selfie if someone else is in the picture?

Finally we made it up to our seats. And our seats were in the Coca-Cola Suite!

Free Coke products? Suite!

Not a bad view, either!

Moose said he didn't know if it was fair that I got to sit in a suite at my first Braves game. I told him it might be the only one I ever went to, so I might as well go big!

I made G take another one so I could choose. :-)

 We had a great time chatting with our neighboring suites and watching the game. And it ended wonderfully:

Should be 2-3, but the winner is correct. 

 We got "free baseball" (Moose's term for extra innings) and the Braves won! I might have been sad if they lost at my first game... After that there was a post-game performance by Montell Jordan.

Apparently he is now a Pastor at an Atlanta church and sang a few praise and worship songs while they were setting up for the fireworks. It was great and I loved the bonus worship time I got that day. After the game and fireworks we came back home to Knoxville. I finally crawled into bed at a little after 4am. It was totally worth it.

On Saturday, Greg and I had a nice day looking for adhesive for his prosthetic ears running errands. He decided to by William Shakespeare's Star Wars while we were at Target, and he ended up reading some of it to me once we got back to his house.

I love a strange man...

I'm not a huge Star Wars fan, but I would be interested in seeing this performed.

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Anyway, I think this post in bordering epic status, so I will rest my weary hands. I hope you're having a good week! Be blessed!