July Highlights

July was FULL, and almost all of it was awesome. =D

I participated in Camp NaNoWriMo and went for 10,000 words. I worked on a short story for fun, and managed to get a pretty good start to a novel I'm hoping to write at some point! I really need to work on editing, but I... don't want to, so it's going to wait. XD

My brother proposed to his girlfriend! This will be the second marriage in our family within a year, so I am really excited! Michael and Liz are perfect together and are already knee-deep in wedding planning since he proposed at the beginning of the month. It's already so crazy!

Liz, Michael, and I.

My birthday was on the fifth! I turned 23, and my mom took me to the L.B.J. presidential library. I had a lot of fun exploring it as it had been years since I went last. We hung out with Sarah and Scott and got my birthday Starbucks. =) So many friends sent me super awesome gifts, it was like a party all month! I normally do a lot more for my birthday (like a photoshoot, writing a letter for the next year) but this year I just didn't feel super enthusiastic about it all, so I gave myself a break. 

Rebekkah and I worked a lot of jobs together and got to do one overnight, which was really fun! We got to watch the dog, swim in their pool, and just chill out. After a lot of long days at work, it was really nice.

Me with a moon rock from the L.B.J.

My sister Grace's birthday is only six days after mine, so I took her to Main Event and we did arcades, bowling, laser tag, and mini golf. It was incredibly fun, and it was hard to pull myself away at the end of the night. We made a late-night run to Mcdonald's to end it off. =) On Rebekkahs birthday, we went out for a nice lunch together and went shopping. =) We have Burkes that just moved into town, so we had to go and look around! 

Some of the kids I watch were in a musical, The Seussical, so my niece and I went to see it. I didn't love the plot, but the kids did an amazing job, and I was in the front row, so I got to have the actors walk right in front of me! 

Some of the girls from our bible study got together and watched the long version of Pride and Prejudice! We did Jane Austen bingo and themed embroidery. It was a blast and we got through the whole thing in an afternoon! 

There is a company in Austin that does a free musical each year, so Grace and I went and saw Newsies. It was incredible! It's an outdoor theater, so we set up on blankets and had an awesome time. The sound went out during the production, and was delayed by an hour, but the actors and production team did great, got the show going again, and wow, it was amazing. I love live musicals, and seeing Newsies was a dream come true! 

A photo from Newsies

I decided my room was in desprate need of a thoughal cleaning, so I took a day and went through every part of my room, and got rid of two trash bags full of stuff. It felt good to get it all nice before my work starts up again for the fall. 

A friend of ours got engaged, so we went to a surprise party for them in the park! I got to catch up with some friends I haven't seen all summer and celebrate the engagement! 

I also spent my fair share of the month working jobs, hiding away in corners during partys, having meltdowns, but I have been so grateful to God for showing me some of my pitfalls lately. 

My favorite (and only) re-read was True Valor (Such a good book), and my favorite new book was The 40 Day Social Media Fast. That was an awesome bible study!

Paddington: Cute and with the same idea as the book. Paddington himself was adorable, and I loved how family orientated the whole movie was. Some of the humor was not my favorite (I've got a very sensitive stomach, and any humor that's remotely gross is hard), and the movie was a bit bland. But it was happy, and I enjoyed the characters.

Last Chance Detectives: This series was a huge part of my childhood, and is just about the best. <3 The characters, the mysteries, they are just amazing.

Ellery Queen: My dad and I have been watching through this together and this month we finished it. I love these classic Who-done-its. It has some bad content, (references to affairs, a few crude references.) but overall it's awesome and Ellery is an amzing detective.

Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys: This was my favorite show as a kid, and I wanted to revisit it. The characters are not nearly as lovable now as when I was a kid. XD But the mysteries are solid, and I enjoyed seeing them again, even if I wouldn't watch it a lot anymore. 

Pride and Prejudice: I watched this with a group of friends again. It's always good to go back to the best movie version. <3

Robin Hood: This is such a fun, happy show. We watched it to unwind after a long day. 

Bionic Woman: My favorite show. Jamie is epic, and the whole show just has a fun premise. I always enjoy unwinding with it. 

Prince of Egypt: I had not watched this since I was a little kid, and I really enjoyed re-seeing. While it's not perfectly accurate, it's still an awesome way to introduce kids to the story of Moses. 

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs: I was having a bad day, so I rewatched this to wind down. It isn't anything amazing, but I love the main character, and how quirky he is. 

Greatest American Hero: This was another re-visiting from my childhood. It was about what I remembered: epic main character, fun romance, annoying side characters, and some violence I didn't like. 

Overall, I had a pretty good July. How about you?