Holy Cow...

Tomorrow is going to be February!!!!  

Spring in January?

Well it has been an extremely mild winter this year and I LOVE IT!  I have never been one for snow, cold weather, ice, etc.  So this is right up my alley.  Here is this week's weather forecast:
Tuesday- high: 67 degrees
Wednesday- 69 degrees
Thursday - 58 degrees
Friday - 56 degrees
Saturday - 55 degrees


Seriously?  How awesome is that!  Possibility of showers on Saturday, I am optimistic that will hold off as I am headed to Williamsburg to spend the day with my sister and nephew!!!


What a cutie he is....

Mummies...in RICHMOND?

So last Sunday, my friend Anna and I decided we would tag along with our friends Emily and Morgan to see the Mummy exhibit at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.  Well it was, lets say, interesting.  The exhibit itself was not too large (after seeing the Picasso exhibit a few months earlier I was expecting room after room of exhibits and we just got one big room).  But the exhibit starts with a 3-D movie about one mummy and shows how archaeologists can now tell so much about the mummies with scans of their body.  It was quite cool to learn about that who technique.  In addition to the mummy exhibit we got to see a bonus exhibit--Elvis at 21, showcasing a number of photos of Elvis on tour right before he started becoming truly famous, with him having a brief stop in Richmond.  I was not expecting much as I was never a HUGE Elvis fan, but I actually really enjoyed this exhibit and think it would be worth it to check it out.


A picture of Anna and I before we went into the Museum:

Legwarmers: Recap!

Friday's concert was awesome.  We got all dressed up--in our neon clothes, leggings, legwarmers, and glow sticks.  Anna and I crimped our hair and went all in for the 80s, CJ wore a sweet neon green headband.  The place was packed, it was a sold out show and I think everyone must have shown up, we really tried to push our way to the front but did not quite make it there.  Overall, it was a fantastic time. We ran into a few other friends while there--Kathryn, Brian, and Kieran.  


I don't think I can fully explain the fun, so lets leave it to pictures....

The 80s rule!

Tonight, I am dressing up in the best of 80s fashion and headed out to see The Legwarmers!  Each year they come to Richmond and me and some friends dress up, drink up, and dance the night away.  It is one of my most favorite shows to see, we have quite literally been counting down the days.  It is a sell out show (DUH!) so it should be a fantastic time!  My favorite 80s song is: Cyndi Lauper, "Girls just want to have fun"  What is your favorite 80s song?

Two at once...

So I am attempting something I HATE doing....and that is reading two books at one time.  I am taking this class that suggest you read through "The Purpose Driven Life."  The class is young professionals in the area getting plugged into a community of other believers and finding a niche for yourself in the workplace.  It is a 40 day challenge.  One chapter a day for 40 days.  Plus I am still trying to continue on my other book (1/10th of the way through it--thanks Kindle!)  I think I will be able to manage since both books are drastically different, but I am worried at the same time.  I'll let you know how it turns out...stay tuned!

2 down, 24 more to go...

2 books down and a week ahead of schedule!  I finished my 2nd book this morning and already promptly started on a new one.  This will be my first book that I am reading on my new kindle and I will see how well that goes.  


So a quick review, my latest read was "Sisterhood Everlasting" by one of my favorite authors, Ann Brashares.  If you are not familiar with her, let me just say 4 words--THE TRAVELING PANTS SERIES.  I am sure everyone has heard of that series and this book was the final (I am assuming) book in the series and follows the girls 10 years past where the other books left off.  I had heard multiple mixed reviews, so I was skeptical going in but I was in love with the book after about page 150 and could not put it down.  The first part is a little rough to get through as a follower of the girls, but the end is so worth it.  


My next book choice: The Holocaust Diaries, by Nonna Bannister.  I am pretty excited about this one, it was a free download on my kindle but I think I will really enjoy it....be awaiting my thoughts afterward.


In other news.  I helped out this past weekend with an event at my church, "Stop Hunger Now."  It was fantastic.  We packaged 58,000 meals for distribution to children in Haiti during my shift (3 hours) and the afternoon shift did another 42,000.  It was a great time and felt really good to be able to be a part of something that will provide 100,000 meals to those in need.  Want more info?  Wanna do an event of your own?  Check it out here.  

The power of a picture

I could not help but snapping a picture of this saying as we visited the Newseum this past weekend.  I have to say I am so thorough moved by photography--most likely the same way some people are moved by art and song.  Just looking at some pictures, I began to shed tears, how powerful is that?

Should I be trendy too?

So a new idea seems to be this trend of reading 26 or 52 books a year (aka 1 a week or 1 every two weeks). I am not as optimistic to assume I could do 52 in a year.  But I am quite sure I get somewhere close to 26 in a year anyway.  I only started tracking my books last June (2011) and from June-December, I read 16 books.  And have already finished 1.5 so far this year.  So it is not unreasonable to assume I am hitting that 26 books a year mark at all.  So I think that may be one of my other goals for the year...in addition to the traveling and weight loss (which currently is flat lining).  


So, you may be asking, what books are you reading?


Well, its fantastic you asked, cause I was going to tell you anyway.  


I enjoy reading all kinds---and I do mean all kinds of books, one week I will read Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, the next it will be a self-help book, and then next a James Patterson, and then maybe a historical novel on WWII.  So I try to run the gamut of topics when reading.  This year I started off the Gary Chapman's "Five Love Languages."  We did a quick overview in my small group a few weeks back and I wanted to learn more, so viola!  I thoroughly enjoyed the insight, but did not like the layout of the book.  He talked too much about his knowledge and experience with people, it seemed more a book about why he was so good at what he does.  But with that being said, I still loved the insight and have already taken to putting it to work.  Knowing my mom and brothers love language is acts of service I wasted no time trying to serve them.  How did it work out?  Great for my mom, I made her lunch and she showered me with kind words.  And with my brother?  Not so great, I took him lunch at work, but when I got him a Chipotle Burrito (his fav), I forgot he does not like beans, and he got mad and pissed off.  Later he did apologize but still not the welcome thanks I was hoping for.  Thus, I have vowed to continue working these out for people.  It is quite hard to learn ways to speak a long language to someone else that I myself am not fluent in.


All in all, I give the book a B.  Above average but not outstanding by any means.  It is an EASY read though, which I think was his intention and one of my downfalls of the book for me.  I always like a read that challenges me a little bit.  

Want to know more?  Here is a link you can use to find out your own love language and what it means to you.


Happy Reading!

Just a little jaunt....

I am leaving this afternoon for a quick little jaunt up to Northern Virginia for the weekend.  I will likely get there tonight about 8pm (assuming traffic is not too much of an issue) and will be headed home at 6:30 am on Sunday .  A short little trip this go round.  But have no fear, it will be packed full of fun.  Friday night, a late dinner and a trip to the container store :)  Then Saturday we plan to get the newseum right when it opens and leave shortly after lunch to go home and get ready for Erica's housewarming party.  Should be fun.  Then Monday is a work holiday....I certainly love those!


Not much new to report, it has finally decided to be winter in Virginia, so that means cold weather (and by cold I mean like 30-40s, we dont do any of this negative degrees nonesense!)  I finally took down my Christmas treet last night, life has been busy that I have been neglecting my at home responsibilities.  But my house is now, de-Christmasified and can be ready for Valentine's decoration....What are you doing for Valentine's day?

Whoops!

12 whole days have past since my last post, I know more fully understand the commitment it takes to keep up a blog.  I will try to be better about updating.  Well I brought in the new year with a champagne toast and lots of screams with friends.  It was fantastic.  But I was promptly in bed by 1am (I am not as young as I once was).   So far, project get in shape is falling flat.  These last 9 days have been super stressful and FULL in general which has made finding time for the gym a difficult task.  I worked about 80 hours last week and am taking off work in a few hours to head up for a less than 24 hour trip to Northern VA for my best friend's mom's funeral.  So that has put a bit of a damper on things. If all goes well, though I should be taking a class Wednesday and Thursday night at the gym :)


This weekend I am going back to Northern Virginia for my friend, Erica's housewarming party and potentially a trip to the Newseum.  Then with my work holiday on Monday, I plan to hopefully take my dog to the vet and my car to the shop for an inspection.  Oh the joys of adulthood :)


Well off to tie up a few loose ends before heading out of town for the day....I promise myself one day I will get to sleep in my bed again :)