it's a leap year

happy leap year.  {why yes, while i am typing this post, i am watching the movie leap year!}  happy birthday to those who can officially celebrate their birthday today.  the idea that you officially do not have the 29th of february to celebrate for your birthday every year still makes me laugh.  does not matter how old i get, it will always be funny.

what did i do with my extra day of the year?  worked for free, that's what i did.  seriously, shouldn't we get paid an extra day with our salary for leap year?  ;)

after work, i joined an impromptu road trip to charlottesville to have celebrate and have dinner with my friend, jeff, who just finished taking the bar exam today.  smarty pants.  the intention was for us all to go to mellow mushroom.  unfortunately, the wait was over two hours, so we tried the next restaurant we walked across.  {boylan heights gourmet burger bar}  the environment, and especially the menu, was rather unique.  the theme:  prep school.  they literally had scantron-like menus that you completed with #2 pencils.  so neat!

i found it interesting that theme was prep school after i had this conversation with friends today about how charlottesville is appealing to me because there is a sense of snobbery present.  to some extent, that snobbery is appealing to me.  yes, i did admit this to my friends today.  it's the truth.  there is just something about it that i find intriguing. 

did you know charlottesville, va was rated as the second best location for overall well-being?  {only second to lancaster, pa...yay pa!}  when this survey was completed, i have no idea, but i feel as though i am doing somewhat okay considering i grew up around lancaster and i now live around charlottesville!

so, what did you do with your extra day this year?

the vow

the vow...it's the newest chick flick in town.  {by the way, chick flicks are favorite.  it doesn't matter how cheesy it is, i love them.  love to laugh at them.  love to cry at them.  love to just enjoy them.}  after watching the movie in theaters with friends a couple of weeks ago, i decided i wanted to read the book, the vow:the true events that inspired the movie by kim & krickitt carpenter.  without going into too much detail, i was intrigued by the carpenters' story.  it is incredibly evident that god's hand was on their lives and is ever present in their testimonies.  just a few, short excerpts from the book:

"the lord is constantly teaching us."  {the vow, kim & krickitt carpenter}

"my wife may have been confused, she may have lost some of her memory, but she still knew her god.  she knew he was in control, and she knew he was working in her life and intended to use her to do his work in his time."  {the vow, kim & krickitt carpenter}

"you have to push people to achieve their potential; they're not always going to see how far they can go."  {the vow, kim & krickitt carpenter}

"she would laugh when she meant to cry."  {the vow, kim & krickitt carpenter}

"'i got gaps, and together we fill them.'  think about that for a moment.  we all have things that we're good at and not-so-good at, but together we fill each other's gaps.  when we work together and complement each other by filling in the gaps, we can achieve our dreams hand in hand."  {the vow, kim & krickitt carpenter}

in a culture where the easy road out is the road most traveled, the commitment that this couple displayed is a true testament to god's love and faithfulness.

myrtle street to myrtle beach

dear friend, jenn, and her mom (aka momma dubs or momma w. to us lynchburg kids) signed up to run the half-marathon.  the race just happened to be in myrtle beach.  good excuse for a little girls' three day weekend?  i think so.  i am so blessed and thankful that jenn and momma w invited myself and roommate kristi along.  seemed like this trip had been planned for quite some time.  it finally arrived.  finally time to go from myrtle street to myrtle beach, so we loaded up momma w's brand new crv and headed for south carolina.  during the drive, i read the vow {kim and krickett carpenter}, which was the true story of the recently released movie.  both the movie and the book are great, but the book is certainly an incredible testimony of god's restoring and healing power.  {more from that in a later post!}

a beautiful drive it was!  it was nearing seventy degrees, which is pretty nice weather for february, even for the south.  our room was at the {anderson ocean club & spa}.  beautiful place, view, and the room--not too shabby!  upon entering the room, kristi and i may or may not have had to hide behind one of the doors to hide our giggles from the bellboy.  the room had 2 bedrooms, living room, kitchen, and a hallway.  what hotel room has a hallway!?!?  oh, and did i mention that each bedroom had two queen beds, which meant we each got our own queen bed?  what a treat!

after settling in, we hit up the hot tub for the first of many trips to the hot tubs.  as you can see, the hotel had the outdoor pools, hot tub, and lazy river, but it also had an indoor pool and hot tub.  soo relaxing.  then we headed out for some italian dinner, back to the hotel for more hot tub, and then some chill time.  we may have watched a few say yes to the dress episodes.  hey, we're in wedding mode, don't judge.

saturday was an early day--race day!  it required an early morning wake-up call, especially for a friday.  kristi and i got to show off our #1 fan t-shirts that jenn gave us for christmas.  fun, fun!  while they ran, kristi and i had breakfast at a cute little cafe, bagel factory, only to be followed by an obnoxious alarm.  we walked around forever, trying to figure out why we couldn't get away from this constant alarm sound.  only to later discover that it was jenn's phone, which kristi had been carrying in her bag.  the alarm had been going off every minute for a couple of hours before we realized what was going on.  embarassing?  yes.  but we had a good laugh over it.  jenn and mrs. washburn did great though in their race.  it ended up being another gorgeous day. 

after the race, it was time for more relax time.  a little beach and a little hot tub.  we also made a little note to jonathan on the beach.  we're all praying for you, jonathan.  we'll see you soon!  this weather made me so excited for summer though, and excited for another beach trip where we can actually lay out and tan!

next stop?  food!  it was time to eat.  we ate at {mellow mushroom}.  another first for me.  it was yummy!  surprisingly, we really enjoyed the chicken caesar salad pizza.  yum!  we had four pizzas altogether--i think our server thought we were crazy.

after we were full of pizza, we went to a cute, little shopping center.  love the outdoor shopping areas.  our next stop was the {myrtle beach state park}.  once we realized there was an entrance fee, we decided we were just going to turn around, but the generous workers let us in for free because "[they] were certain we would love it so much that we would come back again."  yay - super excited about the freebie!  we explored the beach a little and the fishing pier.  it was beautiful, especially as you could see some of the storm clouds rolling in.  the rain clouds provided incredible color to our impromptu photo shoot.  and we spotted dolphins - love it!  photos like this are such a treasure to me as it beautifully captures some of the blessings in my life! love you friends!!

a little more hot tub and a little more relaxing.  while we were relaxing, kristi taught me how to french braid.  as i practiced on jenn's hair, kristi french braided mine.  a regular old hair braiding line--just like grade school.  as we're getting our picture taken, jenn asks, "what should i do in the picture?"  me:  "just stare at your engagement ring."  i don't think jenn had any problem with that! 

 then, it's time for more food--a late dinner!  the {sea captain's house restaurant} was neat.  the waiting area reminded me so much of sitting in a grandparent's living room.  good food, too.  wish i wasn't still so full from lunch.

 departure day from vacation is always easier to bare when it's cold and rainy, right?  that was sunday's weather--rain, rain, and a few snowflakes on the beach.  time to head back to va.  it poured rain for a long time, but started changing to snow by the time we hit north carolina.  roads got worse and worse the further we went.  lots of accidents.  i tried to distract myself from my anxiety of traveling in the snow by reading and reading.  it was another emotional read, but another wonderful testimony of god's provisions.  choosing to see {mary beth chapman} --highly encourage you to read, when you have tissues at your side.  praise god for a safe trip home.  thank you momma w for getting us home safely in your new crv!  since the snow had already accumulated by inches and we had a three hour delay for work the next morning, we slept over instead of driving back to chezmk.  glad we did, too, because we had a nice stack of chocolate chip pancakes and peanut butter chip pancakes waiting for us in the morning {the stacks had been somewhat eaten by the time the picture was taken!}.  thanks poppa dubs!  the conclusion:  we need to get snowed in at the washburn household more, even come july!

what did we learn from the weekend?

• "the wisest people never take their own advice."  {me}
• {lobby...} "girls, if you keep practicing, someday they may need a new person to record 'lobby' for the elevator." {mrs. washburn}  this was her response to us after we would try to mimick the elevator's voice every time it would say lobby.
• "well, we can take both poses because it's a digital camera.  you never run out of film with digital cameras."  {mrs. washburn} -- lesson learned, kristi?!?!
• don't let your iphone fall out of your pocket at the beach.  it will get buried in the sand.  thank you, jenn, for finding my phone that i didn't even know i had lost!
• have lots of tissues handy when you are reading emotional books in the car, especially when driving through a snow storm.

sorry for the long post, but wanted to capture as much as i could of the weekend. =)

it's a shamrock shake

you know that feeling of finding the pot o' gold at the end of a rainbow?!?!  well, i imagine that finding a shamrock shake at mcdonald's is about the same feeling.  promise.  shamrock shakes were a prized thing back in good ol' pennsylvania.  we use to look forward to the shamrock shake season every year.  things changed when i moved to virginia.  virginia just didn't seem to know this thing called a shamrock shake.  so, imagine our (kristi loves them just as much as i do cause she's a PA girl) excitement when last year shamrock shakes starting popping up around lynchburg.  oh man, oh man, oh man.

last week, i had a somewhat rough day and saw someone post on facebook that they had picked up a shamrock shake, the first of the season, but it was not anywhere close to me.  the very next day, i get not one, but two pictures from family back home flaunting their first shakes of the season.  the first from my nephew and the second from my brother-in-law.  not nice, people, not nice.  this got my hopes up, only to find out they were still not yet available in my area.

a friend informed me she spotted shamrock shake signs at two nearish mcdonald's.  so, i checked {shamrockshake.com} which allows people to post sightings of the beloved shake.  yes, it is just that big of a deal.  it seemed like no love for our area.  after work though yesterday, i had another friend indicate she also saw signs at yet another store.  that was it.  kristi and i decided it was time to venture out and find us some shamrock shakes.  success was found at the mcdonald's closest to our house.  so long story short, yesterday we enjoyed our first shamrock shakes for the season.  may there be many more in the near future...let's just say shamrock shake tuesday sounds like a plan to me.

craving a shamrock shake yet?!?!  we've also made our own shamrock awesome-ness at home.  here's an {easy recipe}!  and yes, it does taste better if you serve it in the cute, old-fashioned milkshake cups!

okay and two things just for fun...an old shamrock shake commercial.  oh the good ol' days...  AND there's a popular connection between the shamerock shake and the philadelphia eagles and the first ronald mcdonald house.  you can read a little bit about it {here}.

i shall say that life is good

sitting on my desk is one of those little quote-a-day calendars.  i am terrible about actually flipping it each day, so i was sitting here flipping through, reading, and bringing the calendar to february 8.  loved the quote from helen keller listed on february 7:

"when i recollect the treasure of friendship that has been bestowed upon me, i withdraw all charges against life.  if much has been denied me, much, very much has been given me.  so long as the memory of certain friends lives in my heart, i shall say that life is good."

how beautiful!  while there are certainly some areas in life (one, very large area of my life, in particular) that i would love to see changed, i am reminded of the many blessings of friendships that have truly been bestowed upon me.  i wholeheartedly believe that the treasured friendships that are in my life are confirmation that god intends for us to be loved and to enjoy life.  for those reasons, i have no charge.  i have accumulated many memories with my friends, especially those from liberty, that i will hold dear for a very long time.  i have been fortunate to travel and explore with those friends.  i have learned from each of them and grown in little ways from their investments in my life.  i am challenged by them, i am encouraged by them, and i am loved by them.

me?  i am a happy girl.  because, life is good.

dirt-throwing fella

a coworker shared this fun, little story with me the other day.  she had a dream about me meeting the boy and it made me laugh.  so here is the retelling of the dream...

this guy and i meet on christianmingle.com.  don't get your hopes up, it can't actually happen because i'm not on christianmingle.com {though grandma has threatened to put me on one of those dating sites, as she referred to them, and has even tried to convince my cousins to help her cause she has NO idea how to navigate the internet}, so it's strictly a dream.  anyway, so after some time of talking and getting to know each other, we realize we grew up together in elementary school.  he confesses to have always liked me, to the extent of throwing dirt at me...because, of course, that is what elementary school boys do to show that they like a girl.

so she asks, "was there a boy that threw dirt at you at recess?"  my response, "well, no, that never happened.  everyone liked me."  [[slight side note:  sound conceited?  perhaps.  but it did make me realize how fortunate i was growing up.  i was never bullied and never disliked (at least to my face!).  thankful for an enjoyable childhood and school experience.  don't be fooled, i was never the most popular girl, but i got along with everyone!]]

but now that coworker asks me each day, "did you remember who threw dirt at you yet!?!?"  the answer is, "no."  her response, "maybe there was a boy who wanted  to throw dirt at you?  or maybe there is someone today that wants to throw dirt at you, in a very elementary school boy sort of way?!?!"

there's always hope...there's always hope.  so dear friends, please be on the lookout for that single, attractive dirt-throwing fella...and send him my way.

we celebrate a groundhog

who is the most famous groundhog?  why that is punxsutawney phil, of course.  just one more reason to love the state of pennsylvania.  though i do not always appreciate his prediction, i can join in on the excitement of making a fun, little holiday over a groundhog and his shadow.

so the verdict this year?!?!  six more weeks of winter...  {phil makes his prediction}

thank you, phil.  now normally i would be ready for spring (because that leads to summer), but things are slightly different this year.  lynchburg has not actually experienced winter yet, and i am in eager anticipation for a big snow storm.  why?  mostly because i want to be snowed in for a few days.  a couple paid days off work?  don't mind if i do.  i'll be honest though.  part of me also wants a big snow storm just so that i can show off my new snow boots, snow jacket, and snow pants that i bought at the end of the season and have yet to use.

so, thank you, phil, for giving me hope.  bring on the snow!

i may need to add a trip to punxsutawney, pa for february second in one of the next few years to come.  who's in? 

halfway

halfway?  remember the book list i introduced back in april?  yeah, that list of 50 books i was going to read in a year.  well, i just finished book #25.  so i have a ways to go.  i started fairly strong and then i hit one book that i disliked greatly, which stalled my reading.  not sure i'll make the year deadline, but we'll see!

here's a couple of quotes from the two books i've finished this past week.  disclaimer:  the two books are somewhat opposite extremes!  the first one being catcher in the rye {j.d. salinger}...not the cleanest language, but interesting read.  essentially, just a dialogue of the main character's thoughts.  yeah, like i said, interesting.  the second one being pilgrim's progress {john bunyan}.  it's the christian walk in a storybook fashion with the characters being named after the attributes they are representing.  years ago, i read little pilgrim's progress for a children's lit class, so it was neat to read the "big girl" version.

"'life is a game, boy.  life is a game that one plays according to the rules.'"  {catcher in the rye, j.d. salinger}

"what really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it.  this doesn't happen much, though."  {catcher in the rye, j.d. salinger}

"what i was really hanging around for, i was trying to feel some kind of good-by.  i mean i've left schools and places i didn't even know i was leaving them. i hate that. i don't care if it's a sad good-by or a bad good-by, but when i leave a place i like to know i'm leaving it. if you don't, you feel even worse."  {catcher in the rye, j.d. salinger}

"certain things they should stay the way they are.  you ought to be able to stick them in one of those big glass cases and just leave them alone.  i know that's impossible, but it's too bad anyway."  {catcher in the rye, j.d. salinger}

"you come in by yourselves, without his direction; and shall go out by yourselves, without his mercy." {pilgrim's progress, john bunyan}

"neither will it out of my mind, but that that man that takes up religion for the world, will throw away religion for the world."  {pilgrim's progress, john bunyan}

"sleep is sweet to the labouring man; we may be refreshed if we take a nap."  {pilgrim's progress, john bunyan}

"to go back is nothing but death; to go forward is fear of death, and life-everlasting beyond it.  i will yet go forward."  {pilgrim's progress, john bunyan}

my question to you...what author would you like to befriend?