Recent Reads

{picture found here}

I am a reader. I've always been a reader {which is probably why I majored in English Education in college}. I get it from my dad. He is the most voracious reader I know...and could open his own used book store, seriously. When my sister and I were little, he would take us to the library and let us pick out as many books as we wanted. Thanks, dad, for giving us a love of reading and books.

Lately, I've been re-discovering how much I LOVE the library. All of the books I've read in the last six months have come from our local library. Here are some my recent reads...maybe it should be a goal of mine to read a book a month {since that seems to be where I'm headed anyway}.

1. The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd.

Perfect beach read {which is where I read it}. I enjoyed it, but not nearly as much as Secret Life of Bees.

2. American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld

Loosely based on the life of Laura Bush. I had to remind myself that it was fiction.

3. The Help by Kathryn Stockett.

This book was so good and a fun read. I'm a big fan of Southern lit. Set in the 1960s, this book portrays the life of several house keepers in the Deep South. I highly recommend this book.

4. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson

After hearing a lot of buzz about these books, I finally decided to pick one up. And...I couldn't put it down. A well-written mystery novel for anyone who likes that genre. {Disclaimer: this book has some graphic and disturbing details about serial killings}.

5. The Girl who Played with Fire by Steig Larsson

The second book of the trilogy. We learn more about Lisbeth Salander and her past. Another great page-turner. {Not nearly as graphic as the first novel}.

What have you been reading lately?

P.S. Mike, I promise that our bookshelves won't look like the ones in this picture...at least not until we have a bigger house.

Fill in the Blank Friday

I thought I would do something a little different today and participate in Fill in the Blank Friday.
{Disclaimer: I got this idea from Abby}.

1. The most spontaneous thing I've ever done was get my nose pierced. I had wanted to do it for several years, but never got enough guts to do it. Then, my friend Pam took me as a Christmas present. Thanks, Pammie!

2. The best gift I've ever received was a free car. Yes, an anonymous donor gave me the car I drive a couple of years ago. It's been a blessing and miracle. :)

3. A time that I was truly and genuinely surprised was when Mike first told me he was crazy about me. {Maybe I'll write more about this story another time}

4. I can't leave the house without my phone and keys {boring, I know}.

5. My favorite day of the week is Tuesday because it's the night that the hubster and I are both home together. We've been making an effort to do stuff we love to do together {exercising, watching TV, cooking together} on these nights.

6. Something that can always make me laugh is Mike's impersonations. Seriously, have you seen or heard him imitate someone? He's really good at it.

7. My perfect day would include waking up a little late, brunch at Big City Bread with Miguel, Yoga-X, pedicures & shopping at Queen of Hearts with my BFF, dinner at Cali N Titos. Then, a game night with friends at my house or something.

Little Corner of the World

I have so much to say these days, and really not a lot of time to process it all. We've been busy! I just need to own it because that's where we are. Mike and I both are working two jobs each, which has made for little time to see each other and for our social lives. {On a side note, I really hate it when I say I'm too busy. Busy doesn't always = productivity.}


Here's a little of what's been happening in our little corner of the world:

• My good friend {and former roommate} Shelby got married and I was a bridesmaid! The wedding was absolutely beautiful. She was beautiful and calm.
  
• We went to the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta...and stayed with our friend's Laura Sue and Adam. Thanks, friends, for putting us up!
  
• We carved pumpkins with our InterVarsity students.
• Work has been really, really busy and really challenging lately. I've had to step up my leadership and initiative. It's been good...but still hard {Maybe more on this later}.
  
• Trader Joe's opened in Athens-town!
• We went to L.A. to visit M's sister and brother-in-law...and to meet our brand new, sweet niece.
• We went with some of our IV students to "The 40." The 40 is InterVarsity's Fall Conference for all the IV chapters in the state of Georgia. It was a super fun and encouraging time with them.
• And, I squeezed in a visit to see by BFF for a night. She lives right next to the 400 Outlets, and it was tough not to go shopping. We had a great time hanging out, and it was SO GOOD to see her and her family.
• We paid off our ministry deficit - $29,000 in 10 months! {Definitely more on this soon...prepare yourselves, it will be a lot of rambling}.
  

As I look at this list, I am so thankful to the Lord. He's been constant and good to us - even when I couldn't see it for myself. I am excited to say I will be posting more in the days to come!

Sick Days

Here's the thing about sick days. I dream of taking sick days as an "extra" day to finish a home project, clean the house or as a day to refresh my soul. The only problem is that when I take a sick day, I'm really sick. I had a nasty, snotty cold a couple of weeks ago that knocked me off of my feet for the whole week. It totally stunk because I was home, but I sure didn't feel like working on any of my "projects."

{image found here}

Being sick just means I got further behind on things around the house that I wanted to do -- like decorating for the Fall, balancing the checkbook, going to the grocery store, blogging. You know, though, that's life. I am learning that I have to rest and allow myself to get better instead of pushing through to finish the things off of my to-do list. And...FINALLY...after two weeks I have caught up on my stuff. Feels good. I'm glad to be feeling better!

Through and Through

Most of you already know that I am a Georgia Girl through and through. Well, something got into me over the past couple of days. I had to do something that's iconic Georgia. I boiled peanuts and baked a peach pie!! {Well, Mike and I made the peach pie together.}

On Sunday, M and I decided we wanted to observe the Sabbath. This season is always really, really busy for us, and we know how important a day of rest can be when we are working longer days. So, M and I both did things that bring life to my soul. One of those things for me included picking up a pail of peaches from Thomas Orchards, and the other was boiling peanuts. {These are two of my favorite foods.}

So, on Sunday I made the peanuts while I read a book on my patio {more on that soon}. Here are a couple pics of the peanuts. YUM!!!



Then, last night Mike surprised me by cooking supper for me!! It was such a sweet treat. When I got home from work, the table was set, and I had a sweet card from him waiting on my plate. It turns out, we are trying to make Tuesdays our "date night." We can't go out every Tuesday {or most Tuesdays}, but we can try to spend intentional fun time together. After supper, I convinced Mike to help me with another sweet treat - baking this peach pie. It was my first try at making a pie completely from scratch. I used this recipe. It was perfect!!

I worked on the crust, and Mike cut the peaches. It was A LOT of work, but it was a fun way to spend time together. Thanks, babe! Let me tell you, folks, that pie is well worth the effort.

{Yes, that is my pie. I did the basket weave crust. The BEST crust I've ever had!}

So, I guess this proves I'm a bona-fide Georgia girl! I loved inviting my hubs into something that I brings joy to me. I guess this means I'll be watching LOTS of football with him soon {since that's something he loves to do}. :)

Beach Vacation :: Day Three

So, I am WAY overdue sharing the rest of the trip to the beach. But, alas, here's more on our Kelly family vacation. The day ended up being a basic vacation day. We did p90x in the morning, followed by some lunch and an afternoon on the beach. I think we did Yoga X, and it kicked my booty...I ended up being relatively low energy for most of the afternoon. Dave and Greg had to work during the day, but they got to join us in the late afternoon for some time in the sun & sand.

Then, the "kids" cooked fish tacos for dinner that night. Throughout the trip, we had some good meals together!!

My mother-in-law {Georjeanne} dubbed the Kelly's the "Fun Family" long before Greg or myself joined the fun, and we do have a lot of fun together!! We have several "traditions" we started I'm realizing that most of these "traditions" were things that Kim & Greg started last Thanksgiving when we visited them in L.A.

• We all wore silly bands for the week.
• We did p90x together for
• My most favorite, is that we do trivia each night during dinner.  There are prizes for the winner. 

What are your favorite family vacation traditions?

Beach Vacation :: Day Two

Dave and Georjeanne spend the summer at Oak Island, and each Sunday they go to a church that meets on the pier. Mike and I almost missed it, but we managed to make it just in time for the 8:30 service. It was a nice service, and we loved being able to go to an early service so that we could spend more time on the beach.

After church we cooked a big brunch together. Everyone had a part in helping get it ready{somehow, I ended up without a job}. :)

{The family finishing up a delicious brunch}

Then, we headed out to the beach and spent the rest of the day out there. {I managed to convince Mike that we needed to skip working-out so that we could get on the beach}. Mike and I played Dave and Greg in a game of Bocce ball. It was fun, but ended up being really, really hot. I got a little too much sun this day and spent the rest of the week under the tent OUT of the sun.

We also celebrated Mike’s birthday on Sunday. He got to choose his what we had for supper {Dave's ribs}.

{Such a good meal! The ribs were the best I've ever had. Thanks Dave for leaving the beach early to get everything ready!!}

Georjeanne made her famous ice-cream pie for dessert {Mike’s favorite}. Let me tell you, it was to die for!!

{Not sure if you can tell, but I am completely lobster-fied here}

{This is pretty close to heaven!}