My favorite poem

Several months ago I was at the beach. I love love LOVE the beach. 

I would wake up early in the morning and go down to see the sunrise.

 I find few things more rejuvenating than being on the beach watching the sky change. 

Maybe netflix. Yeah, that's a close second. 

One morning the sunrise was particularly striking and as I whipped out my very old camera 

my favorite poem kept coming to mind.

 It's one that I recently memorized to meet one of my 99 goals. I'm so glad I finally did! 

This has been my favorite poem for years. 

It reminds me that every effort is valuable, that the wise cling to hope rather than cynicism, 

and that there is almost always something very good on its way. Enjoy. 

Say Not the Struggle Nought Availeth

By Arthur Hugh Clough 

Say not the struggle nought availeth, 
The labour and the wounds are vain, 
The enemy faints not, nor faileth, 
And as things have been they remain.   

If hopes were dupes, fears may be liars;
It may be, in yon smoke concealed, 
Your comrades chase e'en now the fliers, 
And, but for you, possess the field.  

     

For while the tired waves, vainly breaking
Seem here no painful inch to gain, 
Far back through creeks and inlets making, 
Comes silent, flooding in, the main.  

And not by eastern windows only, 
When daylight comes, comes in the light, 
 

In front the sun climbs slow, how slowly,
But westward, look, the land is bright.

2014 Goals Report

Remember when I was so good at blogging? I stopped that.

2014! I liked it. In a nutshell, I really, really did. Here's a report on those goals I set back at the beginning of the year I liked so much.


2014 Goals and Word of the Year

Physical: Run!

Still hate it. But I do it! Not for long, but I do it. More on this in my 2015 goals.

Emotional: Conquer my morning routine

There's been an arc of change for this one. The most effective change I made is that I now get up much earlier. I wake up at 5:30. Are you ready for the surprising bit? I love it! I get so much done, I feel so ready for the day, and I end the day feeling more fulfilled and calm. I experimented a lot with this goal and have come to the conclusion that routines change as life changes. I've also found that no matter how my routine changes I have some constants: minimize the snooze button, pray first, read the scriptures second, stay in pajamas as long as possible.

Spiritual: Complete three of the Standard Works

Old Testament, Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price. Done. Everyone should read the Old Testament. What a window into the history of the world!

Mental: Accomplish 25 of my 99 in 999  goals

Oh, this was fun! I was, of course, scrambling at the last minute, but I managed it! Actually, in the end I managed to cross off 26 of my 99 in 2014, so there. Here's an overly-detailed list of the goals I accomplished:

7. Memorize at least two poems "How Shall I a Habit Break" and "Say Not the Struggle Nought Availeth"
10. Rememorize the States and their Capitols
11. Learn the primary songs for order of books in the scriptures (Took forever! Why?)
13. Find three online news sources that I find trustworthy and accessible (3/3) BBC, Googlenews because it gives you a little of everything, and my third is to bounce between at least three liberal vs conservative news sources and glean from both ends of that spectrum.
25. Purchase a quality zip-up jacket $32 for a $150 jacket. Boom baby.
29. Don't watch TV for an entire week. This includes watching shows online!
30. Spend six consecutive months free of one of the following: gluten, dairy, sugar, or meat Went with no dairy and I can recommend it. (But mmmm I do love my yogurt.)

First bite of dairy in 6 months. Cheesecake in Boston. Not mad about it.

33. Do not swear for a month (3/22/2014) I did it!
35. Go sugar free for one week
36. Donate blood
38. Watch the sunrise and sunset on the same day

Also not mad. Thank you Myrtle Beach!

40. Begin a tradition of watching Lincoln on Lincoln’s birthday (February 12th) (2/12/14)
42. Send out Christmas cards   
45. Get a credit card Woot woot!
60. Pay off bank loan
66. On two separate occasions/locations visit relatives who live at least 2 hours away (2/2) Visited my dear Aunt Doe, my Aunt Delores and Uncle Bill in Utah, and my Grandparents in North Carolina.
77. Spend fifteen minutes reading news articles every day for one month
81. Watch 40 Oscar Best Picture Winners (40/40) And my top ten were (in chronological order)
You Can't Take It With You
Mrs. Miniver
Casablanca
On the Waterfront
Rocky
Kramer vs. Kramer
Out of Africa
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
The King's Speech
The Artist
82. Host at least two themed parties (2/2) A b&w party where we watched The Artist, and a Frozen party because I love Olaf (still).
86. Whiten my teeth
89. Try something new with my hair, either through a cut or coloring Long hair is back!
90. Try 5 new fruits and/or vegetables (5/5) Persimmon, Patty pan squash, Papaya, Okra, and Edemame
93. Make a 72-hour kit I keep this in my car and I use it all the time. I love this thing.
95. Start a recipe book with at least 50 recipes Obsessed! Best thing ever!
96. Bring into reality at least 15 ideas from Pinterest (15/15) My favorites are my earring frame and glass-etched jars.
98. Create two holiday themed decorations to be kept and reused (2/2) State ornaments and a button pumpkin. So much cuter than they sound. 
          
Word of the Year: Accept
Such a good word for 2014. I accepted jobs that scared me, choices that frustrated me, and weaknesses that jarred me. I had to face those things head on, but the first step was to accept the reality and be okay with a few bumps in the road.

2014, you were a gem.

Happy Things

Well, as Granger would say, "'Ello 'Ello 'Ello!" I've actually missed this little blog.

Life's been grand, and also a bit overwhelming lately. I'd like to recap the last three months, but setting that expectation just means I'd never write anything. (This lesson I've learned from months of empty journal writing due to that one week I still need to write about. Duuuuuuuumb.) So I've been wondering, "If I ever do blog again what should I blog about?" This is what I came up with. Honestly, amidst all the craziness there are some things that are bringing a lot of joy, a lot of peace, and a lot of strength into my life lately. Here they are blog readers. You can respectfully nod and mumble to yourself, "How lovely that Elizabeth has that in her life. I'm ever so happy for her" etc... Or you can go explore a few of these things yourself, because seriously I have pretty good taste when it comes to coping mechanisms.


 First, Granger. Granger Smoot Bouchelle. With a name like that how can you not be entertaining? Here are some of the greatest hits of the last few months:

"Well, I'm gonna change and then head to the gym."
"I wish I could go to the gym...."
"You can come with me if you want."
"Okay! Lucky thing I'm wearing socks!"
"Yes, that is quite lucky."
"Do you think I'll need an exercise headband?"

(As a side note to this one Granger has become a bit of a gym expert. It's a blast to watch and he is learning that yelling across the gym so I can see how fast he is running is really not appropriate if there are other people there. Baby steps.)

"NEENA! How do I turn on your shower?"
"Turn the things to the right, like I showed you."
*Twisting, squeaking, and other various sounds occur*
"IT'S NOT ACTIVATING!"

My Mom stumbles into the kitchen early one morning with her pajamas on. Granger looks up at her.
"What a dish!" My mother stares at him in shock, unsure where he learned such a phrase and wondering how to respond. Finally Granger pipes up again:
"Can you explain to me what that means? And is it appropriate?"

"Hey, wait a minute Granger! Don't you have scouts tonight?"
"Yeah. But there was something I didn't want to try."
"Oh yeah? What was it?"
(With lowered voice and furrowed brow)
"The waltz."

Second,  my chocos. I seriously wear those bad boys almost every day. I would post a photo of my impressive choco tan, but feet are ew.

Third, Cabin Pressure. It's this British radio show and it's hilariously witty and cheerful and I love it. Enjoy this clip and then go figure out where to get it! It's wonderful! Arthur is my best friend

Fourth, my car. Mostly these little guys that drive around with me everywhere.

I've found that when life is a lot to try and manage successfully, it helps to have something to remind you that there are good, happy things waiting, and that there are far more important things than tests and jobs and to-do lists.

Fifth, Music. I saw these guys in concert last week. Ridiculous. The Head and the Heart

We were actually there for this show (Kathryn and I, that is. My favorite concert buddy.) We spent the first bit by overly energetically affectionate lesbians, and the second bit by Matt and Holli Coates. That, my friends, is the definition of  improving one's situation.

But I've also fallen in love with these guys lately. Pretty much they're on repeat in my car all the time. The Oh Hello's But I always, always come back to the Avetts. Always. In the last month I've fallen in love with some new ones and listened to some old faithfuls  about five bazillion times. If you don't love these guys I get it. I really do. But I wish you did.

Sixth, My job. I have a fabulous job. I work with some of the brightest, funniest, most loving and sincere children in the world, and I even like the adults too! I always struggle at the end of the school year because I know how much everything changes. But I think this next week will be particularly hard knowing that so many of them are moving on to Kindergarten and I'll be in a different class in the Fall. I get attached. One of the most powerful things I've come to know through teaching is that our ability to love only expands as we grow. I never thought I could love, respect, and enjoy any child I taught as much as I did this one:

Or this one.

Or this one.

Or this one.

Or this one.

And seriously, this is the tip of the love-of-the-little-children iceberg.THE PHOTOS WOULD NEVER END! But this year I have added so many to the list of fantastic children I've been able to work with! I can't wait to do the same thing next year.

Seventh, Have I ever mentioned that I live in a gorgeous place? Oh, I have? Every blog post? Well, here's a video to prove it. Please excuse the loud music in my car. It was just a loud-music-in-my-car day.



Eight, Cumberminis. As of some developments last night this merits its own blog post. Coming your way very soon. Prepare to be thoroughly entertained. (Though when I told Granger about it his response was to turn his head away and mumble "Pitiful". But I think it's great!)

Nine, Grad School. More specifically that I am 1 1/2 courses away from being done with my coursework for grad school. Student teaching in January and then this long, tumultuous journey will be behind me and I will expect everyone to call me "Master Elizabeth". Because I'll be a Master. A Master of Special Education. Don't call me that until I've earned the title though, no matter how tempting it may be.

Ten, the gym and Olaf. You may not see how these two are related. Well, they're not. I just didn't want to end with eleven things instead of ten. For those of you who don't know, I love Olaf. I love him. So my wonderful family gave him to me for my birthday.

Actually, in this post-gym photo I am sweaty and gross and in my gym clothes, so I guess they are related after all!  

And the gym in general has just been great for me lately. I've been actually running, and I still read while I'm at the gym so I enjoy that a lot. If it wasn't for the gym I think I would be far less emotionally stable. So I guess everyone who interacts with me ever should also be grateful for the gym. Am I skinny yet? Allow me to answer with an entertaining photo via pinterest:

So no. It's fine.

Borrow a coping mechanism! Seriously! They're all really great ones! DO IT! And feel free to share your own because I love hearing what brings people joy. Or at least stops them from crying over things like road kill or the end of The Rescuers Down Under. My friend said that happened to her recently....

Recaps and Resolutions

WARNING: This post has no photos. I know, awful. So scroll down and look at the post just before this with my fancy little collage that my computer made for me. Once you've had your fill come back and read the wordy post. Good luck.

Ahem.

2013

Quite the year. A brief summary is being drafted (meaning I've been thinking about it and probably will write one sometime but don't know when but what a lovely intention that is that I have) but in the meantime, here's a look at how goals went.

2013 Goals and Word of the Year

Physical: Make a habit of going to bed hungry

This one I feel like I've done pretty well with. Because I started exercising more this year (I said that casually but I expect you to be impressed) there were times when I was legitimately in need of a little snack post-work out (again, be impressed). But overall I've done better not eating at night to stay awake or as a means of procrastination. So yay for that!

Emotional: Purposefully serve a member of my family everyday

The purposefulness is what gets me here.It seems shallow, but I really had to put away whatever I was thinking about or feeling to really and truly look for a way to serve a member of my family. Often opportunities would fall into my lap, but I learned this year how easy it is to be complacent or selfish when it comes to family. Final verdict: Adequate improvement in conceptual understanding, Greater improvement needed in practice.

Spiritual: Read The Bible cover to cover

Totally bombed this one. I didn't even make it through The Old Testament. But what I did read I absolutely loved. Except Numbers, as previously discussed. I am nowhere near giving up on this goal! I just need to make it more of a daily priority. 

Mental: Read 30 books

Um, yeah. At the beginning of the year I was working part-time and seeking meaning and purpose in life and I read a lot of books. So I met this goal in August. I finished my 40th book just before the end of 2013.I read some really fantastic literature this year. I'd love to geek out and tell you what I read and how I felt about it and which fictional characters I'm most in love with but I will spare you. (Just in case you were hoping not to be spared, here's a link to the list of books I read and you can read my little reviews of them. Go ahead, goodreads stalk me. Right here.  Also, fictional crushes= Jack, Max, Sirius. That is all.)

Word of the Year: Listen

This was a really good word for me. I talk too much! And it also reminded me to connect with people more, which is easy for me to forget out here in Rockbridge County. How can you listen to people unless there are people to talk with? I also tried to really listen and understand and empathize with everything around me, including myself. So while I'm no master at any of that it was great to make that a focus for a year. Hopefully I'll maintain that goal throughout, you know, forever.

But wait kids! There's more!


2014 Goals and Word of the Year

Physical: Run!

I hate running. Hate. Haaaaaaaate. But I also know that it's a really good thing to do and that I will feel exponentially better if I learn how to not be horrible at it. So my physical goal this year is intentionally vague. No overall times or distances, just freaking run. I'm planning on setting smaller goals along the way, but for now running in general is where we're headed. Kicking and screaming but still headed towards those terrible torturous treadmill machines.  If I feel like I'm a capable runner by the end of the year that would overcome some awfully powerful and long-held physical, mental and emotional hurdles so I'd be pretty happy with that.

Emotional: Conquer my morning routine

I hit snooze over and over and over. I run late. I abandon all good intentions from the night before. This must end. Mornings are really important for me and it's one of my most productive times. But I need to make them more consistent. Also, I should probably learn how to get out of bed.

Spiritual: Complete three of the Standard Works

I've started The Old Testament, as we all know, and I read from The Book of Mormon every night. So I'd like to finish those and one other (New Testament, Pearl of Great Price, Doctrine and Covenants) this year. I feel like this one is super achievable IF I also accomplish my emotional goal of conquering my mornings.

Mental: Accomplish 25 of my 99 in 999  goals

This is a fun one for me. Working on my 99 has really been a blast for me, but again, without being purposeful it can move really slow.  Also, there are several that I started and haven't finished so this will also be a needed mental exercise in actually following through.

Word of the Year: Accept

This comes after much debate and pondering and reading and many experiences. But I think it's what I need this year. Accept challenges. Accept other people. Accept vulnerability. Accept pain. Accept my own emotions and my own humanity. Accept God's will. Accept relationships. Accept weaknesses. Accept strengths. I'm sure more thoughts on this will come. 

And as a final note, I did a wee bit of running today. So there you go.

November

This month was one of the longest and most eventful of my life. The term "emotional roller-coaster" is pretty insufficient but it's the only one that comes to mind. And it all began at the beach.

Myrtle Beach, to be exact.

We spent four calm, beautiful, peaceful days at the beach. I read books, walked, thought and thought and thought. I knew that I loved the beach but I didn't realize at the time how important that long weekend at the beach would be for me. It was nourishing and regulating and calming. We need that in our lives more than we go seeking for it!

Gift From the Sea by Ann Morrow Lindbergh is my beach book. I take it with me anytime I go to the beach and read from it randomly. This trip was so long I was able to read the whole thing, and let me tell you, I love this book. Here are some of my favorite moments in this book:

“Don't wish me happiness
I don't expect to be happy all the time...
It's gotton beyond that somehow.
Wish me courage and strength and a sense of humor.
I will need them all.”

“I do not believe that sheer suffering teaches. If suffering alone taught, all the world would be wise, since everyone suffers. To suffering must be added mourning, understanding, patience, love, openness, and the willingness to remain vulnerable.” 

“The most exhausting thing in life, I have discovered, is being insincere."

And just one more.  “Perhaps this is the most important thing for me to take back from beach-living: simply the memory that each cycle of the tide is valid; each cycle of the wave is valid; each cycle of a relationship is valid.”

Do you see why I love this book? There were so many perfectly timed reminders and perspective switches for me. Reading at the beach-one of my most enjoyable life experiences. 

 What's that? Oh, yes we did ride in a helicopter. Have a look.

It was awesome. Granger said so. 

 The weekend after we went to the beach I was able to attend a TEDx conference at Virginia Tech. If you're not familiar with what TED is, let me introduce you:  Prepare to be forever changed. Here are a few of the talks that most impacted me that day.

 Heroic by Nature, Cowardly by Convenience 

Re-creation Through Recreation

 Launching Lemons into Space 

Forget What You Know

 Disruptive Design via Additive Manufacturing

I have thought about these talks everyday since I went to the conference. I'm a TED fan. Also, I was super brave and went all by myself. So brave! So worth it!

My friends Maddison and Helen went with me up to the parkway. Again, bragging about where I live.

This spot is ten minutes from my house. No big deal. 

Granger earned some extra bucks and decided a sibling date to Applebees was in order. He's pretty serious about salmon; I mean, check this out.

Eats his dinner like a real man!

Actually, Granger was pretty inspired to have us go out to dinner that night. It was some good Granger time that, again, I didn't know how much I needed.

The next afternoon I was told a dear friend of mine in Utah had passed away. The next two weeks were a whirlwind of emotions and planning and conversations and  travel. You can read the post I wrote about Noah here. I'm not even going to attempt to define my feelings about him or his family right now. While I was in Utah I was able to reconnect with some of my dear Clear Horizons Academy friends. These are truly wonderful people who I absolutely love.

Me and James! I love love love this boy. 

I'm not sure you could say the four of us really worked together, but we did work at the same place. Usually when I was around these girls things felt way too much fun to be called "work". 

Wonderful Sabra Allred. I didn't realize she was in town and I definitely fell apart when I saw her.

 My Eddie-lovin' friend Jaime. This amazing woman makes some beautiful children.

Holli Holy Eyes. One of my nearest and dearest friends. So great to talk to each other in person, rather than just on the phone. 

This woman. I adore her. I hope one day I can be just like her.

And Lindsay. Honestly, I don't know how I would have coped with the last month of my life without Lindsay. She has been my sanity. And I'm in love with her son. 







 But I have to say, the absolute highlight of my trip was this person:

Marley girl. We're betht friendth.

I want to be Marley when I grow up. I absolutely love, respect, and adore her. It blows my mind that she loves me so much, but I'm so so so grateful for her friendship. She's the best.

One day I'll write about my flight home, (following the most painful goodbyes of my entire life), and the three wonderful men who took care of me, saw that there was a sane, capable person under all of my teary fatigue and were so very, very kind. As I said to one of my friends who called me in the airport, "I'm a very calm mess". I firmly believe people were sent to help me through a really, really tough day. Stories for later.

I know, I know, longest post ever. But guess what, it was the longest month ever so it kinda matches up.

Two days after I got back from Utah my family left to accompany an SVU travel study trip to NYC for Thanksgiving. The trip was really a great time; I didn't feel anywhere near emotionally ready for it, but by the end of the trip I had the moments I had needed to feel a little more myself and a little more stable and hopeful.

We went to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which was freezing and long and worth it. 

Granger's typical subway pose. 

My Mom, me, and Lady Liberty. 

Went to the MOMA. Walked around a corner. Oh, there's Starry Night. Just hanging out. 

A room with Monet canvases that took up entire walls. Beautiful. 

We also went to the Museum of Natural History. Some of you may recognize "DumDum". Granger and I were thrilled to meet him. 

And Teddy! I'm a fan, so it was lovely to share a bench with him. Granger was clearly delighted. 

My darling sister waiting for lunch. How cute is she?

I found this little sketch at the MOA and I quickly became obsessed with it. 

There's something very powerful about it to me. 

I mean, look at that. Amazing. 

We went to see Cinderella- a fabulous escape and also fulfilled one of my 99 goals. The show was fantastic. It's a lovely little tale anyway but they changed some of the story and there was so much more progression and meaning to it all. I loved it.






But the most impressive thing about this trip was that I drove one of these:

through this:

There were SO many people and SO many cars and I drove through it. Twice. I'm a freaking rock star.

Many, many things to be grateful for this month and a lot of pain to go along with it. Not a month I'll quickly move on from. Each of the experiences of this month keep replaying in my head and I think I'll be learning from all of them for a long, long time.

To all of you who actually made it to the end of this blog post, send me your address and I'll mail you a candy bar. You deserve it.

October!

Okay, I know everyone loves October. Here's the thing- I can be a snob about lots of things, and apparently I'm an October snob. If you haven't seen October in Virginia then just understand that needs to happen for you. Early in October I went with my friend Taerra to "the double-decker". It's a spot in my hometown that's used for everything from wedding receptions to late-night antics of young hooligans. It's got some ancient playground equipment and a bajillion picnic tables. And this is the view:

This is where I live. Those little buildings down there? That's my hometown. It's small and old and a little time warp and I love it.



Actually, I kinda told a lie up there. This isn't actually where I live. I live in Lexington now. It's hard to explain the BV vs Lexington aspect of Rockbridge County. They're ten minutes away from each other and they feel like separate worlds. I love both and I wish there was a lot more crossover between the two communities. As it is, I'm quite happy to claim both places as home. I live near the cemetery in Lexington and I recently claimed a bench under a tree as my very own. Here's the view from my spot:

What can I say? I live in a beautiful place.







I recently went to a Tedx Conference and one of the speakers shared the history of baseball in his hometown. His presentation was fueled mostly by photographs and then he mentioned a slump in his towns history. He brought this up to emphasize that it correlated with the time in their history in which they did not have a baseball program. But then he mentioned that he had no photographs of that time period. He briefly commented on the fact that we rarely take photos of the bad times. I have thought about that a lot recently and he's very right and I don't think I'm okay with it. In October the brakes in my car went out and Granger and I almost crashed into an oncoming car. The subsequent adventure of calling for a tow truck, waiting on the side of the road, trying to calm my nerves, etc... was all incredibly photographable. (Photographable=not a word). But I didn't take photos and I wish I had.

In any case, that happened. And we lived to tell the tale. Here's the little blurp I put on facebook about it: "Driving down a hill toward a stop sign. Realize my brakes are gone. Notice oncoming car. We're going to collide. I scream my favorite swear four times (the s word, in case you're curious) and make a sharp turn onto the side of the road narrowly missing the other car on my left side and the huge ditch on my right. The car stops. I take a few deep breaths. Granger: 'Um... flat tire?' You people without Grangers must have really tough lives. My condolences."

I DO have photos of this happy surprise of all surprises!

I knew Bethany was coming into town but I had no idea she'd be at the temple, and I certainly didn't know that Heston would be there! Bethany sent me a photo of her and Heston and I could tell it was at the temple and I immediately called her. The conversation went something like this.

"Hi!"
"WHERE ARE YOU?"
"At the temple. Where are you?"
"Fifteen minutes away!"
"WHAT? AH!"
"Go to the visitor center!"
"Okayloveyoubye!"

One of my most enjoyable phone calls. Bethany was in town for several days and her very gracious family was kind enough to let me steal for a bit. I think we had just over an hour, but anytime with Bethany is something I treasure! Few people know me so well and vice versa. We're just really good friends, okay? See look.

ElizaBethany and delicious hippie desserts.

AND LET'S NOT FORGET HALLOWEEN! One of my 99 goals is to make and wear a legitimate halloween costume.

Check! How cute are we? Farishte (aka Thing 1) came up with this idea and I thought it was so clever. Making the costumes was actually pretty easy and really fun. You guys, I love Farishte. She's one of my very favorite thing 1s.

And then that night we drove here.

But you'll have to wait for the next blog post for that story.

Pretty dang good month I'd say.

Mission Accomplished (Pretty Much Entirely).

I am not really scared of bugs. I actually do pretty well with bugs. In fact, I have been referred to as "the spider killer" due to my reputation as "that one girl who kills the spiders and then freaks out afterwards if they were really big and scary but she was still okay to kill it first". True story.

However, I am terrified of these:

This is a camel cricket. They are disgusting. They jump fast and high, they can climb walls and hang on ceilings, they splatter everywhere when you do manage to kill them, they jump AT you if you miss, they are the spawn of Satan.

#69 of my 99 in 999 is to face camel crickets without screaming. (Please note, swearing is still allowed; not recommended, but definitely allowed.) This was a tough one. I don't know that I can expect to never, ever, ever scream while facing one of my greatest fears, no matter how hard I try. However, I've been slowly, surely, steadily progressing with this over the past few months. Now comes the big announcement...

Ladies and Gentlemen, I just killed nine of these. Nine. No screaming. Not a single scream. Granted they were not fully grown so they were less likely to jump away, but still, I am seriously so impressed with myself.

So while it is still not a guarantee that I will never scream again, in fact, I can pretty much guarantee that I will at some point, I feel like I have made incredible progress with this goal and I consider it having been achieved.

Because I'm pretty stinking amazing, that's why.

(Seriously, aren't they just disgusting? So gross.)

JUNE!

Oh, the month of June! It was a good month.
I went up to DC and visited my friend Ginger. We visited the monuments at night, explored the metro, visited Arlington and spent a wonderful two hours at the Museum of American History.

GOOD STUFF EATERY!

  My first visit to Arlington was memorable and so beautiful.

 Julia Child's kitchen! That was a real treat.

Jefferson: Possibly my very favorite monument. 

I went with my siblings to visit my Grandad and ask him questions about his life and our family history. Oh my goodness, what an honor to be one of his Grandchildren, and what a treat to sit in their beautiful home and hear such wonderful stories! (This photo is from several years ago. I need to remember to take photos next time I go and not just videos! Isn't this a great photo though?)

And oh, Kathryn and I just went to an Avett Brother's concert. No biggie. It was her first concert (EVER!) and my third time seeing the Avetts. This also met goal #79 of my 99 in 999. We both left this concert even more in love with them. They are fantastic. See how happy we are?

My friend Melba inspired me to finally visit Foamhenge. That's right, Foamhenge. It's a legend in my home County but, even after almost 16 years, I had never been there. Now I finally have, and it was a beautiful day!

I drove to Richmond and then Virginia Beach with some of my dearest friends from College. It's truly amazing to me to think about how we've seen each other through so many phases of life. Now one of us has two children, one has a baby on the way, one has a new husband, and one (me) is pursuing the career of her dreams. Yet, even with all those different roles we're playing, we could still have each other laughing and learning and growing. It was an absolute blast. I love these women!

Aaaaand this. That's a chubby little two-month-old hand. I have the best job ever.

Also, my 99 in 999 is still moving along. I have officially accomplished #85. And here is the proof! (The delicious proof.)

 I also managed to accomplish #24, 26, 27 and 28. (You don't get a photo of my new underwear. You're welcome.)

Due to goal #68 my little apartment has looked like this for a month. The pile towards the front of the photo is all stuff I'm getting rid of. The rest are things I need to sort through and store. This project has been, and continues to be, a lot of work. But it feels so good to see my belongings shrink!

This incredibly cute and wonderful and creative and useful and darling thing that I made is one step on my way to completing #96. I'm a little proud of it.

Thank you June for the memories and the laughs and the plentiful naps!

Love,

Elizabeth