Random truth about myself

I discovered something quite interesting about myself today. It's probably something that Amy or Greg could have told you months years ago, but I just realized it today. You want to know what it is? Ok, here goes. I have serious trouble buying stuff for myself, especially more costly items that I actually need. Additionally, I will spend my last dollar buying a gift for you before I get something for myself. I know that sounds silly, but you should know by now that I am silly. Tada!

You're probably wondering how I figured out this little tidbit today. Well, I'll tell you. I was in need of 2 things when today started. Firstly, I needed a new backpack. The bag I was using to schlep my books and what have you to work or church was falling apart. It was the back pack I took to NYC in 2010, and while I love the memories we have together it is starting to fall apart. I also needed a new sports bra. I have a rather large chest and I am on a mission to find a sports bra that is secure, supportive, and doesn't require me to layer them.

I went to Walmart for the backpack first. I had already seen one like I wanted, I just need to go back and make sure it would fit my needs. As I walked through the doors of Walmart, this is the first thing I see:

It screams G

I mean it was practically begging to go live with Greg. I saw it and decided he needed it to take stuff to Dragon*Con at the end of the month. I don't know what he will put in it, but that's not really my problem because it OBVIOUSLY needs to go home to G! Plus it was on sale for only $9. How could I resist? So I picked it up and went off in search of the bag I actually went to buy. I finally found it, not in a logical place to my mind, but I was in Walmart.... I digress. I find the bag I want in a color I like and it looks like it will serve my needs, but it plus Greg's bag are more than I intended to spend. So which did I debate not getting? My bag of course! In ended up getting both of them, but I had to talk myself into it the whole way up to the register. 

I met up with Greg for dinner and gave him his gifts (I may or may not have also picked up a few of his favorite drinks and put them in the bag), then he and I went to Dick's Sporting Goods so I could look at sports bras. My first mistake was starting there. Somehow I always forget how expensive it is. I couldn't find anything to serve my purposes for less than $50, and Greg could not convince me to spend that kind of money on myself. Even though it really was not a bad price for the garment, and I really do need one. But nope, didn't get one. 

I love to invest in others, but I don't spend a lot of time or money on myself if I don't have to. Which is why I usually end up buying more for Greg, Mom, and Tony than I do for myself on tax free weekends. I have a problem. 

Tax-free, not hassle-free

Today was another action packed day! We had to be at the church at 8:30 for Day 2 of our Leaders' Gathering. I must say, I learned quite a lot and really felt God stretching me in new ways for my walk with Him. Once I make sense of my notes, I'll have to do a recap.

After that, I met Amy for lunch at Panera before heading out for our tax free shopping. We only ended up going to Old Navy and Walmart, but I ended up with 5 new shirts and a pair of jeans for less than $85. My favorite item I picked up was a plaid shirt from Old Navy.

OldNavy.com

It's so fun and bright. I love it. Every thing else I got was pretty plain in comparison, but that's ok. It's my statement piece, haha. The trip wasn't without its craziness, though. There were long checkout lines at Old Navy, and kids going crazy everywhere. I may or may not have tweeted that shopping on a sales weekend was better than birth control. But I tried to be patient with everyone, especially they poor workers. I knew they were having a way longer day than I was.

After I got home from shopping, I did a quick change (into that shirt of course), and went with Greg to go see his mom in the hospital before heading out to meet some of his college friends for dinner. She's doing better, and hopefully she will be released from the hospital tomorrow or Monday. She's a tough lady, but she's getting frustrated that she can't get her mouth to cooperate with her brain. All we can do is pray for it to come back. And I know she's tired of being cooped up in that room all the time. It probably doesn't help that she has constantly had visitors since she was admitted to the ER on Tuesday. One of her kids has been with her almost 24/7 since she was admitted, and she looked relieved that Greg and I had to leave 45-60 minutes before his brother was supposed to arrive tonight.

We went dinner at Calhoun's on the River, which was nice. One of Greg's friends from college was in town from Texas this weekend and it happened to be her birthday, so she called some people together to go out to dinner. The only person I knew besides Greg was Moose, but I still had a good time.

But now it's time for me to log off and get ready for bed. I'm hoping tomorrow will be a peaceful day involving me copying recipes into computer files. Yay for projects!

Action-Packed Friday

Whoo! Today started early and is running late. My alarm went off at 4:45, so I could wake up and get ready to go shopping with Mom and Tony. Why 4:45? Because it was the first day of tax free weekend, and we wanted to beat the rush at the store. Plus, I has aspirations of going in to work early today (which I did, more in a minute), so the sooner started, the sooner finished. We got to the store at about 6, and Tony managed to find 3 pairs of shorts that he will actually wear. I swear, getting that kid out of basketball shorts is like pulling teeth! Oh well. All I ended up getting today was a notebook for the Summit next week and a desk organizer for work. I'm hoping to be able to go shopping with Amy either tomorrow or Sunday, though. I hope so at least, I am in need of clothes!

I managed to get to work at 9:30 this morning, and promptly set about organizing our front stock closet. It's where we keep our drinks and bars that aren't on display and our promo items. We just got some new bracelets and towels a few weeks ago, then got new t-shirts yesterday for our newest membership deal. Needless to say, things had gotten a little disorganized. We had a delivery scheduled for today, so I wanted to get things organized before I had to put even more stuff in there. I finished just in time to start my shift at 11.

My shift went pretty well, just packed. Shannon had a meeting at the corporate office this morning and  a conference call back at the club at 1, so I told her I would count money and do invoices for her. Once I was done with that I reorganized the front desk. We had a lot of wasted space going on (which was why I picked up the desk organizer), so I tried to make things flow a little better. By the time I got that settled the delivery arrived and I spent the rest of my shift restocking and putting things away. I hit 9k on my Fitbit before 4pm.

Once I got home from work it was time to change clothes and head back out the door for our leadership gathering at church. About once a quarter, the church invites all group leaders to the main campus to discuss how the groups should be performing and growing. This is the first time I've gone because I just recently felt led to launch a group. I'm pretty excited about it, and I hope that I can talk about it soon! Anyway, tonight was part one and we'll go back for the second half tomorrow morning. I got a lot out of just the 2 hours from tonight, so I'm looking forward to tomorrow.

Well, I didn't get a lot of pictures taken tonight, so here is a photo of our melting centerpiece...

Biscuits

I am still having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that it is already August! Tony starts 10th grade on Monday, Amy's birthday is in 19 days (good thing I already know what she's getting), and the unofficial end of summer, Labor Day, is just around the corner. Then it will be time for football, apples, chili, and pumpkins. Don't get me wrong, I love Fall. It's my favorite season. But where the heck did my summer go??? Luckily I have some pretty fun thins planned for the rest of this month.

This weekend is Tennessee's Tax Free Weekend, so we are going shopping bright an early tomorrow. Thank goodness, because I am in desperate need of some new shirts, pants, and shoes. Since Tennessee's sales tax is so high, it's like 10% off of everything I need! I may look at some of the school supplies for some craft projects I have in mind, but my main mission is to get clothes.

We intend to take a 9-Inning Vacation on the 11th. I haven't gone to a game all season which is a little weird. I'm not a huge baseball fan, but it's always fun to go. And I love this one because The Tennessee Smokies are playing the Montgomery Biscuits. I'm not kidding. Here's there mascot.

 How could you not want to see that team play?? I love our local team, but I'm not gonna lie... I kind of want a Montgomery Biscuits shirt. Only in the South, right?

Then, like I said, Amy's birthday is in 19 days. She's going out of town for a few days on her actual birthday, but I'm sure she and I will do something before or after her trip. I'm pretty stoked about her present, but seeing as she reads this blog, you're going to have to wait to find out what it is. Rest assured, it involves some craft-tastic goodness.

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I have a few other things to catch you up on, but I'm going to leave this post on a high note. Hope your August is off to a great start!